Girr 


THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 

OF  CALIFORNIA 


REICHERT  COLLECTION 

PRESENTED  BY 

SIDNEY  M.  EHRMAN 

JACK  GOMPERTZ 

BERTHOLD  GUGGENHIME 

EDWARD  H.  HELLER 

L  W.  HELLMAN 

LESSING  J.  ROSENWALD 

RABBI  IRVING  F.  REICHERT 


Studies  in  Galilee 


Studies  in  Galilee 


By 


ERNEST  W.  GURXEV  MASTERMAN.  M.D.,  F.R.C.S.,   F.R.O.S. 

Jerttialcm 


WITH    A     I'REIACE 

By 
GEORGE   ADAM  SMITH,  DTJ.,  LL.D. 

Professor  of  Old  Testament  Literature,  United  Free  Church  College,  Glasgow 


CHICAGO 

THE   INIVEKSITV  OK  ClIICAfJo   I'RESS 

1909 


Copyright  1909  By 
The  University  of  Chicago 


Published  October  190Q 


GlfT 


roinposed  and  Printed  By 

The  University  of  Chicago  Press 

Chicago,  Illinois,  U.  S.  A. 


n  -■  7 


IN    LOVING    MEMORY    OK 
L.   M.   X.   M. 


Horn,  Nazareth  Died.  Jerusalem 

October  29,  1872  April  27,  iq 


ivi608*JGt) 


VRV.VACV: 

I  contribute  with  pleasure  a  few  lines  of  i)refacc  to  my  friend 
Dr.  Masterman's  work  on  Galilee,  though  I  feel,  after  rcadinj^  it,  that 
the  value  of  its  contents  lifts  it  above  the  need  of  any  commendation. 
Besides  the  Memoir  of  the  Survey  under  the  Palestine  Exploration 
Fund,  and  the  relevant  chapters  in  works  dealing  with  the  whole 
countr)-,  several  learned  monographs  have  been  written  in  English 
and  German  upon  the  geography,  the  history,  the  archaeology  and 
the  present  dialect  of  Galilee.  Among  these  Dr.  Masterman's  book 
will  take  a  place  of  its  own.  It  furnishes  fresh  and  notable  contribu- 
tions to  our  knowledge  of  so  famous  a  region.  It  is  richly  stored  with 
facts;  it  is  lucidly  written;  and  cannot  fail  to  prove  alike  valuable 
to  the  expert  and  interesting  to  the  ordinary  reader. 

The  foreign  student,  who  visits  a  countr\^  for  research  alone,  gains, 
it  is  true,  much  advantage  from  the  concentration  of  his  attention 
upon  the  particular  lines  of  history  or  of  physical  science  in  which 
he  is  already  expert.  But  his  impressions  of  the  life  of  nature  or  of 
man  cannot  be  so  numerous  nor  always  .so  just  as  those  received  by 
the  cultured  resident  and  servant  to  the  needs  of  the  people.  To  the 
latter  things  happen,  lights  break,  and  materials  and  powers  of  judg- 
ment are  given  which  are  not  possible  to  the  more  or  less  rapid  traveler, 
with  limited  time,  a  fixed  itinerar>',  and  few  opportunities  of  repeating 
anrl  crossing  his  routes.  In  the  case  even  of  the  most  learnerl  and 
judicious  of  travelers  errors  of  fact  and  defects  in  j^roportion  are  inevit- 
able. .\  resident  in  the  country  has  the  means  of  correcting  these 
errors  and  of  j)roviding  a  more  just  perspective  of  the  whole  land. 

Dr.  Masterman  is  familiar  with  Galilee,  as  he  alone  can  be  who 
has  not  merelv  traveled  its  main  routes,  but  for  some  time  has 
been  at  work  in  it;  oljliged,  in  j^ursuit  of  his  calling,  to  journey  by 
its  numerous  byways,  welcomed  into  intimate  relations  with  its 
inhabitants.  He  has  lived  through  the  seasons  of  the  Galilean  year, 
with  an  eye  and  mind  that  have  been  trained  by  long  oij.servation  of 
physical  phenomena  in  other  parts  of  Palestine.  He  has  studie^l  the 
domestic  and  public  customs  of  the  people,  and  is  familiar  with  the 


viii  PREFACE 

folk-lore.  Altogether,  Dr..  Masterman  has  labored  for  sixteen  or 
seventeen  years  in  the  East.  His  numerous  papers  in  journals  devoted 
to  the  history  or  the  geography  of  the  Holy  Land  prove  his  acquaint- 
ance with  the  literature,  ancient  and  modern,  and  have  been  largely 
used  by  experts.  Very  few  know  the  recent  history  of  the  land  or 
the  life  of  the  people  like  himself. 

As  he  points  out,  there  is  no  better  center  for  exploring  the  greater 
part  of  the  province  than  Safed,  where  he  has  lived  and  worked  for 
two  years.  Safed  commands  the  Upper  Jordan  Valley,  the  coasts  of 
the  Lake  and  both  the  Upper  and  Lower  Galilees,  through  all  of  which 
the  calls  of  his  profession,  as  well  as  the  interests  of  research,  have 
carried  him  from  time  to  time,  and  have  given  him  many  opportunities 
of  revising  and  increasing  his  knowledge  of  the  country.  It  is  from 
Safed  that  an  observer  may  most  easily  become  familiar  with  the  pro- 
portions of  the  whole  province,  while  such  famous  localities  as  the 
plain  of  Butaiha,  Gennesaret  and  the  sites  of  Capernaum,  Chorazin, 
and  Bethsaida  lie  immediately  below  him. 

With  all  these  the  following  chapters  are  concerned.  The  reader 
will  find  a  lucid  account  of  Galilee  as  a  whole,  its  structure,  frontiers, 
divisions,  natural  products,  the  resulting  characters  of  its  people's 
life,  and  its  place  in  history.  On  the  vexed  questions  of  the  particu- 
lar topography,  whether  one  agrees  or  not  with  Dr.  Masterman' s 
answers,  it  will  be  recognized  that  the  data  he  offers  for  the  latter  are 
sound  and  that  his  reasoning  is  not  arbitrary  nor  extreme.  Especially 
welcome  is  the  full  information  which  he  contributes  about  Gennesaret 
and  the  whole  northern  coasts  of  the  lake.  His  support  of  the  view, 
that  extends  Gennesaret  east  of  the  hill  el  <=Oreimeh,  is  an  important 
contribution  to  a  more  than  difficult  question.  Those  of  us  who  have 
argued  for  a  different  conclusion  from  his  as  to  the  site  of  Capernaum 
will  appreciate  the  reasonableness  and  insight  of  the  evidence  which 
he  brings  forward  for  Telhum;  it  must  influence  the  further  debate 
of  this  problem.  Only  less  helpful  are  his  descriptions  of  Kerazeh 
and  et-Tell,  the  probable  sites  of  Chorazin  and  Bethsaida.  English 
readers  will  welcome  the  summary  of  v^hat  is  known  of  the  ruined 
synagogues  of  Galilee,  vivified  as  it  is  by  the  reports  of  Dr.  Masterman's 
own  visits  to  them  and  his  observations  of  their  curiously  pagan 
features.     The  criticism  of  the  figures  of  Josephus  and  of  modern 


I'kl.I  ACK  ix 

estimates  of  llu-  ancient  population  of  (lalik-c  set-m  to  me  of  f^'rcat 
value.  I  would  have  welcomed  the  expansion  of  the  remarks  on 
Xa/,aretli  into  a  description  and  discussion  as  lonj^  as  that  on  Caj)cr- 
naum;  and  some  treatment  of  the  site  of  Taricheae.  lUit  Dr.  Master- 
man  does  not  offer  his  hook  as  e.\hau>li\e  of  the  data  of  Oalilee. 
What  he  has  given  will  both  stimulate  an<l  control  future  discussion 
of  a  re.u'ion  which  is  not  only  full  of  many  topograjjhical  i)roblems 
but  presents  these  to  us  in  close  connection  with  some  of  the  i^reatest 
e\ents  of  all  hislorv. 

(Jeokc.l  Adam  Smith 


AUTHOR'S  NOTE 

To  three  of  my  friends  my  hearty  thanks  are  due:  to  Mr.  R.  A.  S. 
Macah"ster,  of  the  Palestine  Exploration  Fund,  for  reading  the  proofs 
and  for  many  suggestions;  to  Professor  George  Adam  Smith,  for 
kind  helj)  and  advice,  and  to  Miss  Jean  Kennedy  for  the  trouble  she 
has  so  generously  undertaken  in  ])reparing  the  Index  and  lists  of 
references. 

i;.  w.  (;.  M. 


contp:nts 


Preface     

Chaptkr       I.      Physical  Featurhs,   Boundaries,   and   Chief 
Towns 

A.  Lower  Galilee 

B.  Upper  Galilee 

C.  The  Ujjper  junkin  X'alicy  and  the  Lakes 
Chapter       IL  The  Inland  Fisheries  of  Galilee 

Chapter     IIL  Gennesaret 

Chapter     IV.  Capernaim 

Chapter      V.  Chcjrazin  and  Bethsaida 
Chapter    \I.  The  A\(  ient  Synagogues 
Chapter  \IL  Galilee  in  the  Time  of  Christ 
Index    


PAT.E 

vii 


37 

51 

71 

93 

log 

129 

M3 


LIST  ol    .M\l'>  AM)   ILLrSTKATIONS 


FlSlllKM  AN     MiNDlNC.     XlTS     BY     LaKF.     OF     C.AI.II.FK.     SoiTH     OF 


TlBKRlAS 


h' rontis  piece 


The  Horns  of  Hattin— A  Vouamc  Hill 
Safkd    

THK    VlLLAGK    of    EL   JlSH 

Banlvs 

Safed — The  Moslem  (^)rARTKR 

Sea  of  Galilee  (Map) 

The  Environs  of  Banias  (Caesarca  Phili])!)!) 

Shepherl>s  Fording  the  Jordan 

El  Mf.jdel,  the  Probable  Site  of  Mac.dala 

Tiberias  from  the  Lake 

Gennesaret  (Map) 

Gennesaret  (Map) 

Plain  of  Gennesaret  and  Horns  of  Hattin 

Hill  "^Oreimeh 

The  Rock-(  it  AqlJ-'hct  around  the  Tell  of  cOreimeh 
Double  Opening  in  Birket  Sheikh  =^Ali  edh  Dhahi.r 
The  Windings  of  the  Jordan  Riner 
Tell  Hum  Synagogue  (Plan) 

Tell  Hum 

Tell  Hum 

A  View  of  Tabi(;hah  and  the  Surrounding  District 

Ruin  Heaps  of  Bethsaida 

The  Shore  of  the  Sea  of  Galilee  near  Tabighah 

Ruins  of  Synagogue  at  Irbid — Lower  Galilee 

Ruins  of  Synagogue  at  Umm  el  cAmed. 

Southern  Facade  of  the  Synagogue  at  Ki  fk  Bi rim — Upper 

Galilee 

Ruins  of  Synagogue  at  el  Jish — Upper  (Ialilee 

Southern  Facade  of  Synagogue  at  Meron— Upper  Galilee 

The  Inscribed  Lintel  at  Xebratain 

Ruins  of  Synagogue  at  el  Keisium 

Nazareth 


s 

I  2 
14 

iS 

19 

21 

23 
29 

31 
32 
52 

54 
60 
62 

63 
6; 


78 
80 
96 

Q7 
105 

I  I  ;^ 
I  i  5 

u; 

iiS 

1 20 

121 
I  22 
135 


PHYSICAL  FEATURES,  BOUNDARIES,  AND 
CHIEF  TOWNS 


¥ 


("IIAI'TI.K    I 
IMINSICWI.   lIvXriRKS,   HolNDARl  i;S.  AM)  Cllli;!     Ii  )\\  AS 

Tlic  name  Galilee  is  ihe  Graecized  form  of  the  Hebrew  !J"*r<  golil, 
a  word  used  (I  Kings  6:34)  to  describe  the  "folding"  or  "rolling"  of 
a  door,  and,  as  a  substantive,  translated  a  "ring"  in  Cant.  5:14; 
Esther  1:6.  As  a  geographical  expression,  aj)])lied  to  other  regions 
than  what  wc  know  as  Galilee,  it  is  translated  "country"  (Kzek. 
47:8)  and  "borders"  (Josh.  13:2;  22:10,  11).  There  were  thus 
several  galils  as  there  were  many  frontiers,  but  the  district  now 
under  consideration  was  known  as  hag-galil  or  the  galU  (Josh.  20:7; 
21  •.^2;'  I  Kings 9: 11;  II  Kings  15:29;  I  Chron.  6:76)  or,  to  give  it  its 
full  title,  galil  }i(ig-goyt»i^  (Isa.  9:1),  the  "ring"  or  "region  of  the 
nations."  It  would  a])])ear  in  the  earliest  references  to  have  been  a 
small  region  around  Kedesh,  though  later  it  seems  to  have  comprised 
the  possessions  of  Zebulon  and  Naphtali  and  a  considerable  propor- 
tion of  that  of  Asher  and  Issachar.  Its  frontier  was  an  ever-changing 
shore  line  toward  the  "nations"  on  which  the  tide  ebbed  and 
flowed,  sometimes  submerging  the  Hebrews  and  sometimes  driving 
them  north.  Even  within  this  district  the  peoples  appear  always 
to  have  been,  as  they  are  today,  strangely  mixed  in  both  race  and 
religion. 

The  ideal  physical  boundaries  of  this  region  are  well  defined — few 
small  provinces  have  by  nature  so  secure  a  frontier;  yet  these  bound- 
aries never  a]jj)ear  in  the  whole  course  of  Jewish  history  to  have 
coincided  with  the  ])olitical  limits.  On  the  south  this  division  of 
Palestine  is  bounded  by  the  (ireat  Plain  of  Ksdraelon,  from  the 
northern  edge  of  which  the  hills  of  Xazareth  rise  with  remarkable 
abruptness.  To  the  west  the  Mediterranean,  and  to  the  east  the 
Jordan  and  its  two  lakes,  are  nature's  bounds.  On  the  north 
modern  custom  has  come  to  limit  Palestine  j)roper — and  therefore 
Galilee — by    the    extraordinary   gorge    of    the   Kasimiyeh  or  Litfmy 

'  Almost  certainly  also  in  Josh.  12:  2.^ 

'  Compare  Harosheth  Itag-goyim  (Judsiis  4:  2).  and  their  locality  on  the  borders. 


STUDIES  IN  GALILEE 


r'i. 


River.  This  deep  canon  runs  from  east  to  west 
across  the  greater  part  of  the  mountain  range, 
leaving  but  a  narrow  strip  of  high  land  between 
it  and  the  Jordan  Valley.  The  cliffs  of  this 
ravine  rise  in  places  almost  sheer  for  over  a 
thousand  feet,  and  it  is  only  at  a  few  spots 
that  it  can  be  crossed. 

Within  these  limits  is  confined  a  great  variety 
of  country,  of  climate,  and  of  scenery.  To  the 
west  lies  the  Plain  of  x-Xkka — the  delta  formed 
by  the  two  rivers  of  Lower  Galilee,  the  Kishon 
and  the  Belus — which  is  separated  by  the  great 
seaward  jutting  mountain  range  of  Ras  en 
Nakurah  from  the  narrower,  though  more 
famous,  coast  region  of  Tyre  and  Sidon.  To 
the  east  lies  the  most  fertile  and  beautiful 
section  of  the  Ghor  or  Jordan  Valley  with  its 
abundant  running  waters  and  its  tropical 
climate.  Between  these  two  level  areas  lies  a 
region  of  mountain,  hill,  and  plain,  the  most 
diversified  and  attractive  in  Palestine. 

The  mountain  mass  of  Galilee  is  made  up 
of  stratified  limestone  of  layers  of  varying 
denseness  but  almost  without  exception  weath- 
ering rapidly  under  rain  and  frost.  The 
rocks  and  stones,  exposed  unprotected  to  such 
influences,  speedily  disintegrate,  while  caves 
produced  by  the  wearing  away  of  soft  under- 
lying layers  of  the  limestone  are  exceedingly 
common.  At  some  spots  near  the  Jermak  are 
deep  natural  well-like  holes  in  the  rock  of  great 
depth,  similar  to  the  pot-holes  found  in  England 
and  other  parts  of  Europe.  Fossils  are  scarce, 
but  bands  of  flints  and  spheroidal  nodules  of 
white  quartz,  varying  in  size  from  that  of  a  wal- 
nut to  a  football,  are  very  common,  especially  all 
about  the  central  plateau.    Overlying  the  lime- 


I'liNSRAL  rK.\rrRi;s.  i;(  )rM).\Rii.s,  wi)  ciiii.i    towns      5 

stone  thcTL-  arc  many  j)atchcs  of  trajj-rock ;  all  the  laval  outflows  arc  on 
the  eastern  side  of  the  \vatcr-i)arting.  The  most  extensive  area  is  that 
ccntcrin^q  round  tlu-  double  volcanic  i)cak  known  as  the  "Horns  of 
Hatlin."  From  here  the  lava  has  Howcd  out  on  all  sides:  it  caps 
the  limestone  rocks  overhanging  the  western  side  of  the  Lake  of 
Tiberias  and  Hows  southeast  down  the  wide  valley  of  Sahel  el  Ahma, 
while  northward  it  is  spread  out  on  the  fertile  plain  of  Hattin.  In 
the  district  immediately  to  the  north  of  this  is  another  great  deposit, 
probablv  an  entirely  independent  outtlow  through  which  the  Rubu- 
diveh  stream  has  cut  its  way.  Almost  on  the  water-parting  itself  two 
little  outcrops  from  dykes  appear  at  Umm  el  ^Amed  and  also  just 
below  Dcir  Hannah.  Safed,  though  its  hills  are  entirely  of  soft 
chalky  limestone,  is  encircled  by  trap-rock.  To  the  west  and  north- 
west lie  the  great  volcanic  plateaus  of  el  Jish  and  "^Alma — each  with  a 
rain-filled  crater-like  pool.  On  the  north  of  Safed  there  is  a  patch  of 
this  rock  high  uj)  in  the  mountains  just  below  Benit.  To  the  east  a 
great  outflow  occupies  the  Ghor  between  Lake  Huleh  and  the  Lake 
of  Tiberias;  while  southward  all  the  lower  ground  between  the  mouth 
of  the  Jordan  and  el  "^Oreimeh  is  made  up  of  terraces  of  black  lava, 
through  which,  however,  limestone  hills  project  in  places.  Within 
sight  of  eastern  Galilee  are  the  numerous  extinct  volcanoes  of  the 
Jaulan,  and  the  hot  and  sometimes  sulphurous  springs  in  the  neigh- 
borhood of  the  Lake  of  Galilee  are  also  evidences  of  slumbering 
subterranean  fires.  The  testimony  of  history  that  this  region  has 
been  the  center  of  severe  earthquakes  is  supported  by  the  terrible 
destruction  and  overthrow  of  all  the  ancient  remains. 

One  other  physical  feature  of  Galilee  requires  passing  mention, 
namely,  the  great  number  of  rich  alluvial  plains.  Esdraelon.  Akka. 
Tor^an,  Battauf,  el  Ghuwcir  (Gennesaret),  el  Huleh,  Kedes,  and  Me.s 
are  some  of  the  most  important,  and  all  of  them  are  referred  to 
elsewhere.  In  all,  the  alluvial  deposits  are  of  great  depth  and  of 
extraordinary  productiveness.  Notwithstanding  the  long  neglect  of 
careful  agricuUure  these  ])lains  still  give  Galilee  something  of  her 
old  character  of  wonderful  fertility. 

A.    LOWER    GALILEE 

The  Talmud'  states  that  ''Galilee  contains  the  upper,  the  lower, 
and   the  valley"  (i.  e.,  the  Ghor)  and   these  are  the  three  natural 

■  Shebuth,  IX,  2. 


6  STUDIES  IN  GALILEE 

divisions.  The  mountain  region  has  by  nature  been  very  clearly 
divided  into  a  southern  lower  part,  where  the  hills  are  gentle  and 
rounded,  the  plains  wide  and  fertile  and  the  natural  roads  easy  and 
direct,  and  a  northern  or  upper  part,  where  there  are  lofty  mountain 
peaks,  deep  narrow  valleys  and  high  plateaus.  The  natural  dividing 
line  is  the  great  mountain  range  which  runs  due  east  and  west  to  the 
north  of  the  plain  of  Rameh,  rising  there  to  the  point  Jebal  Haidar 
(3,440  feet)  and  culminating  at  the  eastern  end  at  the  peaks  of  Jebalat 
el  ^Arus  (3,520  feet).  Beyond  the  deep  chasm  of  Wady  el  Tawahin 
the  direction  of  this  range  is  continued  by  the  southern  wall  of  the 
mountain  mass  of  Safed,  and  terminates  at  the  eastern  extremity 
of  Jebal  Kan^an  (2,761  feet).  When  it  is  remembered  that  the  highest 
point  in  all  Lower  Galilee  is  only  1,843  feet  above  the  sea,  and  most 
of  it  is  much  lower,  the  outstanding  nature  of  this  great  barrier  is  mani- 
fest. Lower  Galilee,  overlooked  from  such  a  height  as  Jebal  Haidar, 
appears  as  a  plain  broken  by  wave  behind  wave  of  rounded  hills. 
The  lines  of  narrow  plain  land,  stretching  from  the  plain  of  Akka  in 
the  west  to  the  Jordan  Valley  in  the  east,  are  most  striking.  Indeed 
this  is  the  most  noticeable  feature  in  the  geography  of  this  region ;  the 
whole  land  consists  of  parallel  ranges  of  hills  running  east  and  west 
with  wide  fertile  valleys  between.  From  south  to  north  these  ranges 
are  Jebal  Dahi  (1,690  feet)— the  "Little  Hermon"  of  the  mediaeval 
pilgrims— the  Nazareth  Range  with  Mount  Tabor,  the  Tor'^an  Range 
and  the  Southern  and  Northern  Ranges  of  esh  Shaghur.  The  middle  of 
these  ranges — the  Tor'^an — only  extends  half  way  across  the  land  west- 
ward, and  all  these  hill  fo-mations,  but  particularly  the  three  southern 
ones,  make  a  curved  southward  bend  at  their  eastern  end  as  they 
approach  the  Jordan  or  the  lake.  At  these  ends,  too,  the  limestone 
formation  is  overlaid  with  much  volcanic  trap. 

The  great  Plain  of  Esdraelon— known  as  Merj  ibn^Amir— appears 
naturally  rather  as  a  frontier  or  an  arena  of  battle  than  as  an  integral 
part  of  Galilee.  The  domination  over  the  plain  appears  to  have  be- 
longed sometimes  to  the  southern  and  sometimes  to  the  northern  in- 
habitants, but  in  times  of  weakness  on  the  part  of  both,  the  Children 
of  the  East  would  sweep  unchecked  upon  it  and  devastate  its  fruitful 
harvests  like  a  swarm  of  locusts.  The  great  western  bay  between 
Jebal  Dahi  and  Tabor  is  certainly  physically,  as  it  has  in  history  been 


I•lI^•sI(•.\I.  1 1:.\  rrRKs.  norxDAKiis,  wd  ciiiii    iowns      7 

politically,  an  inic,L,'ral  pari  of  Galilee,  and  Carmel,  at  one  jjeriod  at 
any  rate,  followed  its  northern  mountain  neighbor.  As  regards  the 
great  triangular  main  stretch  of  plain  the  cities  at  the  edge  of  the  hills, 
such  as  Geba  (Sheikh  Abreik),  (iabatha(Jebata),Simonias(Similnieh), 
must  have  grown  their  cereals  there,  just  as  Nazareth  does  today. 
That  the  frontier  was  very  ill-defmed  in  the  time  of  Josejjhus  is  shown 
by  the  fact  that  though  he  puts  the  northern  boundary  of  Samaria  at 
Ginea'  (Jcnin),  at  the  southern  edge  of  the  plain,  he  puts^  the  southern 
boundary  of  Galilee  at  Xaloth  (the  Chesulloth  of  the  Old  Testament), 
now  Iksal,  at  the  northern  edge. 

The  Nazareth  Range  of  hills  reaches  at  Jebal  es  Sih,  about  three 
miles  northeast  of  Nazareth,  a  height  of  1,838  feet,  and  in  the  outly- 
ing spur  of  Tabor,  1,843  ^^^U  while  at  Neby  Sain,  the  hill  immediately 
above  Nazareth  itself,  a  height  of  1,602  feet  is  attained.  From  this 
central  mass  the  ground  falls  on  all  sides.  Westward  there  is  an  ex- 
tension of  low  forest-bearing  hills  lying  between  the  Kishon  on  the  south 
and  its  tributary,  the  Wady  el  Malek,  on  the  north.  On  the  southern 
edge  of  this  hill-country  lies  Sheikh  Abreik,  once  a  village  of  much  im- 
portance, to  judge  from  its  tombs  and  caves,  and  probably  the 
Gaba,  "the  City  of  Horsemen  "of  Josephus^  where  lived  the  horse- 
men of  Herod,  while  near  the  northern  edge  is  the  little  hamlet  of  Beit 
Lahum — the  Bethlehem  of  Zebulon.  The  eastern  extension  of  the 
Nazareth  Range  consists  of  a  series  of  fertile  plateaus  in  which  volcanic 
elements  are  largely  mixed.  The  high  ground  runs  southward  at  its 
eastern  extremity  where  it  overhangs  the  Jordan  \'alley. 

North  of  the  Nazareth  range  comes  the  Plain  of  Tor'^an  along 
which  runs  the  modern  carriage  road  from  Kefr  Kenna  to  Tiberias. 
This  alluvial  plain,  five  miles  long  by  one  mile  wide,  drains  westward 
through  the  Wady  el  Rummaneh  into  the  Battauf,  its  waters  finally 
reaching  the  Kishon  through  the  Wady  el  Malek.  Over  the  main 
water-parting  near  Lubieh  the  eastern  extension  of  this  plain  runs 
southeast  from  opposite  the  "Horns  of  Hattin,"  in  a  wide,  sloj>ing 
valley,  strewn  with  volcanic  stone,  which  drains  to  the  Jordan  by  the 
Wady  el  Fejjaz.     This  valley  is  known  as  the  Sahel  el  Ahma,  and  is 

■  B.  J.,  Ill,  iii,  4. 
'  B.  J.,  Ill,  iii,  I. 
i  Ant.  XV,  viii,  5;    B.  J.,  Ill,  iii,  i. 


8 


STUDIES  IX  GALILEE 


probably  Bctzammin'  across  which  Siscra  rushed  in  headlong  flight 
to  his  ignominious  death.  At  the  head  of  this  same  valley,  around 
the  scorched  rocks  of  Hattin,  the  unfortunate  Crusaders  made  their 
last  ineffectual  stand  against  the  victorious  Saladin  (1187). 

The  Kurn  Hattin  is  the  center  of  the  Tor'^an  Range  which  here 
curves  southeast  and  then  south,  where  it  overhangs  the  lake. 


THE  HORNS  OF  HATTIN— A  VOLCANIC  HILL 

North  of  the  Jebal  Tor'^an  is  the  marshy  plain  of  el  Battauf,  nine 
miles  long  by  two  miles  wide,  doubtless  once  a  lake.  The  western 
end  drains  into  the  Wady  el  Malek,  but  eastward  has  no  proper  outlet, 
and  in  winter  months  forms  a  great  marsh  most  dangerous  to  cross. 
This  was  the  plain  of  Asochis  of  Josephus.  On  its  northern  edge 
is  Khurbet  Kana,  identified  in  the  Middle  Ages  as  the  Canaof  Galilee 
of  John  2:1-11;  4:46,  and  more  probably  the  correct  site  than 
Kefr  Kenna,  a  village  in  the  Nazareth  mountains  favored  by  modern 
ecclesiastical  tradition.  It  would  appear  almost  certainly  to  have 
been  the  Cana  of  Josephus  (see  Vita,  §§  16,  17,  41).    Half  an  hour's 

•  Judges  4:11. 


1'11\SK\L  I  lAIlRIS.   lUHNDAKII.S,  AM)  Cllli:!-    TOWNS        9 

ride  uj)  a  valk-v  from  this  ruin  is  'IVll  J(.'fat,  a  hare  rocky  hill  .showinji 
few  remains,  hul  wilhoul  doul)!  [hv  site  of  Jotapala,'  a  very  important 
fixed  i)oint  in  the  loj)Oi;raphy  of  Josephus. 

Over  the  water-parling  to  the  east  of  el  Batlauf  there  is  a  rapid 
descent  to  the  volcanic  ])lateaii  of  Hattin  which  drains  by  means  of  the 
Wadv  el  llamam  int(^  (iennesarel.  North  of  the  Battauf  lies  a  some- 
what confused  mountain  mass  known  as  esh  ShaghClr.  One  or  two 
points,  such  as  Ras  Kruman  (181 7)  and  Ras  Hazweh  (1781),  are  nearly 
as  high  as  the  hills  of  Nazareth,  but  the  average  elevation  is  much 
under  a  thousand  feet.  The  plateau  of  "^Arrabeh  has,  when  seen 
from  a  height,  the  appearance  of  a  plain,  and  it  divides  esh  Shaghtir 
into  a  southern  and  a  northern  range.  The  drainage  of  this  district 
is  through  Wady  Sha'^ib  which  joins  the  Wady  Halztjn,  one  of  the 
tributaries  of  the  Belus  (Nahr  Na'^mein).  On  a  hill  rising  at  the 
western  end  of  this  high  plain  of  <^Arrabeh  is  Sukhnin,  the  Sikni  or 
Siknin'  of  the  Talmud  and  the  Soganc^  of  Josephus.  At  its  eastern 
end,  crowning  the  water-parting,  is  the  walled  village  of  Deir  Hannah, 
beyond  which  the  ground  rapidly  sinks  eastward  into  the  Wady 
Selameh,  a  well-watered  valley  which  drains  the  ])lain  of  Rameh  and 
is  continued  southeast  as  the  Wady  er  Rubudiyeh  into  Gennesarct. 
Wadv  es  Salameh  derives  its  name  from  Khurbet  es  Salameh,  a 
ruin  crowning  a  strong  and  extensive  site  on  which  once  stood  the  city 
of  Salamis.-' 

The  Plain  of  Rameh  lies  between  esh  Shaghur  and  the  southern 
range  of  Upper  Galilee.  It  chiefly  drains  southward  as  described. 
The  valley  to  the  east  of  Farradeh  and  Kefr  Anan  emj)ties  its  waters 
by  the  Wady  Maktul  into  the  Wady  el  '^Amud  and  thus  to  Gen- 
nesaret,  while  the  western  extension,  a  long  open  valley — Wady  esh 
Shaghur — full  of  olive  groves  and  cornfields,  drains  through  the 
Wady  el  Halzun  into  the  Belus  at  Akka.  The  whole  of  Lower  Galilee 
is  of  great  natural  fertility.  The  plains  are  splendid  arable  lands ;  those 
of  el  Mugh^r  and  Rameh  are  celebrated  for  their  great  groves  of  olives, 
a  product  for  which  Galilee  was  always  celebrated,     ''It  is  easier," 

■  See  Josephus,  B.  J.,  Book  iii,  chaps.  6  and  7. 
»  Tal.  Bab.  Rosh.-Nash.  Shannah,  29  w. 
3  Vita,  51. 
*  Jo5ephus.  B.  J.U.  XX.  f^. 


lo  STUDIES  IN  GALILEE 

it  is  said  in  the  Talmud/  "to  raise  a  legion  of  olive  trees  in  Galilee 
than  to  raise  one  child  in  Judea."  Vines  are  not  today  widely  culti- 
vated except  around  Rameh  and,  to  some  extent,  Nazareth.  The 
hills  are  in  places  well  wooded,  particularly  a  quadrangular  patch 
at  the  southwest  corner  of  the  Nazareth  range  and  rolling  country  to 
the  northeast  and  east  of  the  slopes  of  Tabor.  The  lower  valleys  both 
to  the  east  and  west  are  all  more  or  less  wooded.  The  hills  of  Shaghur 
and  also  those  to  the  east  of  Rameh  are  covered  with  "brush  wood" 
— a  shrubby  growth  now  replacing  what  was  only  a  few  years  ago 
a  forest  of  fine  trees.  The  shrubs  consist  of  dwarf  oaks  of  several 
kinds,  terebinths,  karub  (locust  tree),  za^rur  (hawthorn),  wild 
olives  and  figs,  meis  (nettle  tree) ,  and  arbutus,  all  capable  of  developing 
into  noble  trees,  as  well  as  storax,  bay-laurel,  myrtle,  caper,  sumakh, 
and  lentisk,  while  the  water  courses  are  adorned  by  great  masses  of 
beautiful  oleanders,  willows,  planes,  and,  occasionally,  poplars.  The 
sycomore  fig,  once  said  to  have  been  a  characteristic  product  of  Lower 
Galilee,  is  now  scarce  in  these  parts.  Groves  of  sacred  terebinths 
occur  in  many  places  and  the  thorny  zizyphus  (sidr),  when  covering 
a  holy  tomb,  often  attains  noble  proportions. 

The  water-supply  of  this  district  is  rich  specially  in  the  lower 
ground,  but  even  in  the  mountains  good  springs  are  plentiful.  At 
many  of  the  villages  are  copious  springs,  e.g.,  Seffurieh,  Reineh, 
Nazareth,  Hattin,  Farradeh,  while  at  the  head  of  the  Wady  Salameh 
the  fountains  give  rise  to  a  perennial  stream  sufficient  to  work  several 
mills.  Reckoning  together  the  mountain  region  and  the  low-lying 
plains  east,  south,  and  west,  it  would  be  hard  to  find  a  land  at  once 
so  diversified  and  so  richly  supplied  with  nature's  gifts.  The  vast 
majority  of  the  historical  references  to  Galilee,  whether  in  the  Macca- 
bean  period,  in  that  of  the  New  Testament  or  of  the  Roman  wars,  refer 
to  places  in  Lower  Galilee.  This  is  the  more  natural  when  we  notice 
how  the  great  roads  traversed  the  district.  The  most  certainly  ancient 
of  routes  is  that  highroad  marked  today  by  the  ruins  of  khans  which 
crosses  lower  Galilee  from  northeast  to  south,  and  was  known  in 
mediaeval  times  as  the  Via  Maris.  Coming  from  Damascus  across 
the  black  stony  Jaulan,  it  crossed  the  Jordan  at  the  Jisr  Benat  Ya'^kub, 
ascended  in  a  southwest  direction  to  the  Khan  Jubb  Yusuf,  where, 

I  Ber.  Rahha,  par.  20. 


I'lnsK  \i.  1  i;.\  i'rKi;s.  in  )i  \i).\kir>,  wd  cmii    lowxs     n 

afUT  .giving  off  branclu's  to  SalVd.  to  Akka  (via  Rami-li)  and  to 
Ki-ra/A-h  and  tlu'  mouth  of  \hv  Jordan,  it  dcsccndi'd  to  tin-  Khan 
Minvch.  From  here  it  crossed  il  (ihinvcir  (Genncsarct)  and,  cither 
by  way  of  the  Wadv  Ilamam.  Irhid  and  Hattin,  or  (as  at  present) 
by  the  more  open  W'ady  Abu  el  Amis,  it  ran  u|)  to  the  higher  ]ilateau, 
whence  it  ran  by  Khan  el  Tujjar,  across  Esdraelon,  and  southward 
throut,'li  the  great  pass  at  LejjUn  to  the  coast.  This  highroad  is  an  ex- 
tremely ancient  one  and  may  be  that  referred  to  in  Isa.,  chap.  9.  A 
branch  of  this  road  skirted  the  western  shore  of  the  lake  and  ran  south- 
ward to  Jerusalem  via  Beisan,  Tubas  and  the  Plain  of  Makhneh,  a 
route  still  strewn  along  its  whole  length  with  groups  of  Roman  mile- 
stones. The  broad  valleys  running  east  to  west  must  always  have  been 
natural  routes  to  the  coast,  particularly  to  the  ancient  port  of  Akka;  one 
of  the  most  imjjortant  of  these  traversed  the  Plain  of  Tor<^an,  past  Suf- 
furieh,  and  thince  led  by  the  Wafly  Abellin  to  the  Akka  plain;  another 
ran  from  the  Khan  Jubb  Vusuf,  across  the  Wady  Tawahin,  past  Khur- 
bet  Abu  Sheb^a,  Rameh  and  Khurbet  Kabra— the  Gabara  of  Jose- 
phus'— and  into  the  Plain  of  Akka  by  the  Wady  Wazeyeh.  Both  these 
routes  are  in  constant  use  today.  The  whole  district  is  intersected  with 
numberless  paths,  almost  all  of  which  are  possible  to  loaded  camels — 
except  after  heavy  rain— and  in  the  [jeriod  of  Galilee's  greatness  all 
the  chief  cities  must  have  been  connected  by  more  or  less  well-made 
roads  or  paths. 

H.       IPFI.R    GALILEE 

The  lofty  mountain  region  known  as  "Upper  (ialilec"  is  not  easy 
to  describe  in  a  terse  manner.  1 1  appears  to  the  casual  observer  a 
confused  mass  of  tumbled  mountains,  to  which  not  even  the  maj) 
can  give  an  orderly  view.  The  sharp  line  of  the  southern  mountain 
rise  has  already  been  described;  from  the  Jebal  Kan'^an  at  the  south- 
east corner  this  range  is  continued  almost  due  north  and  runs  as  a 
mountain  wall  of  steep  declivity  along  the  whole  western  edge  of 
the  Jordan  \'alley,  reaching  its  most  impressive  heights  at  the  north 
where  Jebal  Hunin  (2,951  feet)  and  Xebi  Audeiflah  (2,814  feet) 
tower  precipitously  above  the  plain. 

«  VUa,  10,  15,  25.  40,  46,  47,  61;    P.  J.,  Ill,  vii,  I.      In    some   passages  called 
Gadara,  by  a  textual  error. 


12 


STUDIES  IN  GALILEE 


Almost  in  the  center  of  this  range  is  the  plateau  and  town  of 
Kades— the  famous  Kadesh  Naphthali— a  little  north  of  which  is 
the  curious  shut-in  basin  of  Mes.  Along  the  length  of  this  chain 
runs  an  important  and  ancient  highroad  from  Safed  to  the  Merj 
Ayun. 

The  central  point  of  Upper  Galilee  is  Jebal  Jermak  (3,934  feet), 
the  highest  point  in  Palestine;   it  is  the  culminating  point  on  a  ridge 


SAFED— THE  VILLAGE  IN  THE  EOREGROUND  IS  BERIAH 


which  runs  from  Jebalat  el  '^Arus  and  through  the  Jermak  summit 
to  the  Jebal  Adather  (3,300  feet).  This  ridge  may  be  called  the 
Jermak  range.  To  the  northeast  of  this  range  is  the  great  central 
plateau  to  which  belong  the  volcanic  plateaus  of  el  Jish  and  <=Alma, 
as  well  as  the  more  westerly  fertile  plains  of  Meron,  el  Jish,  and 
Yarun. 

In  this  central  region  of  elevation,  the  lowest  plains  of  which  are 
higher  than  the  top  of  Tabor,  four  main  water  courses  rise  and  run 
to  the  four  points  of  the  compass.  On  the  east  side  of  Jebal  Jermak, 
and  between  that  point  and  the  Safed  mountains,  rises  the  deep 


iMiNsicAi.  I  i:AirRi;s.  hoindakiis,  wd  (  iiii.i    towns     13 

gorge  of  Wadv  cl  Tawahin  which  runs  southward  to  (Jcnncsarel. 
From  the  northeast  slopes  mar  il  Ji.-h  rises  the  Wady  Hindaj  (known 
in  its  higher  reaches  as  Wady  Farah  and  Wady  Auba)  which,  after 
making  a  semicircle  to  the  north,  runs  out  into  the  Ghor  as  an  extra- 
ordinarily steep  and  precipitous  gorge,  and  finally  empties  its  waters 
into  the  Huleh.  From  the  northwest  and  west  slopes  of  Jermak 
arise  the  rootlets  of  the  equally  deep  Wady  el  Kurn  which  runs  due 
westward  to  the  Mediterranean.  The  Wady  Selukieh  takes  its 
origin  a  little  north  of  the  Jermak  and,  after  pursuing  a  course  almost 
due  north,  joins  the  Kasimiyeh  some  twenty-five  miles  above  its 
mouth. 

These  valleys  are  the  most  im})ortant  in  the  land;  they  all  have, 
over  much  of  their  courses,  deep  and  precipitous  sides  and  in  parts 
perennial  streams.  They  rise  close  together,  all  indeed  but  the 
last,  from  the  slopes  of  the  Jebal  Jermak  itself.  By  them  "Upper 
Galilee"  is  divided  into  four  quarters.  Of  these  dividing  lines  the 
most  important  is  that  made  across  the  land  from  east  to  west  by 
the  combined  Wady  Hindaj  and  Wady  el  Kurn. 

From  the  summit  of  the  Jermak  the  greater  part  of  Galilee  lies 
spread  out  as  on  a  raised  map.  Eastward  rises  the  white  chalky 
hill  of  Safcd  with  the  town  itself— the  largest  in  Galilee— clustered 
around  its  lofty  castle  hill,  to  the  southwest  part  of  the  range.  \'il- 
lages  may  be  seen  scattered  around  some  of  its  numerous  springs. 
Akbara'  with  its  towering  precipice  to  the  south,  Ed  Dahareyeh  just 
below  Safed  itself,  and  Beriah  and  ^Ain  ez  Zeitiln— each  with  watered 
gardens — to  the  north.  On  the  eastern  slopes  of  Jermak  is  Meron. 
Between  it  and  Safed  lie  five  miles  of  stony  barren  hills,  once  within 
memory  of  living  man  covered  with  thick  brushwood.  To  the 
northeast  the  grey  volcanic  plateau  Merj  el  Jish,  with  its  water- 
filled  crater  (the  Birket  el  Jish),  catches  the  eye. 

Around  the  edge  of  the  plateau  are  several  villages.  To  the  west 
of  this  lies  el  Jish,  crowning  a  white  chalky  hill,  with  a  level  of  fertile 
gardens  and  vineyards  to  the  south.  Somewhat  nearer  is  the  little 
squalid  village  of  Sifsaf,  almost  hidden  in  its  grove  of  figs  and  olives. 
Behind  el  Jish  the  lofty  mountain  village  of  Mcriin  er  Rls  stands 
out  conspicuous.     More  directly  north  of  us  is  Sa^sa=^  which,  though 

'  The  Achabari  of  Jf>sephus,  Vila,  §37;    B.  J.,  II,  xx,  6. 


14 


STUDIES  IN  GALILEF 


crowning  a  hilltop,  appears  from  here  to  lie  in  the  plain  at  our  feet. 
Farther  off  is  Kefr  Ber'im,  on  the  waterparting  between  north  and 
south.  Still  beyond  lies  Yarun.  A  little  to  the  left  (west)  of  Yarun 
lies  Rummaish,  on  the  edge  of  its  fertile  plain.  Distinctly  visible  is 
its  large  rain-fed  birket,  that  is  much  in  evidence  in  the  spring. 


THE  VILLAGE  OF  EL  JISH— VIEW  FROM  THE  SOUTH 


To  the  northwest  lie  the  two  villages  of  ed  Deir  and  el  Kasy,  on 
twin  hilltops.  Behind  these,  at  a  distance  of  about  five  miles,  is 
the  lofty  hill  of  Belat.  More  directly  westward  is  the  flourishing 
little  town  of  Teirshiha  and  its  neighbor,  Malia,  rising  at  the  two 
extremities  of  a  small  plain  largely  given  over  to  the  cultivation  of 
tobacco.  This  was  part  of  the  rich  estate  of  the  Teutonic  knights, 
the  astonishing  ruins  of  whose  once  powerful  castle  Montfort  (now 
Kul^at  el  Kurein)  crowns  an  almost  inaccessible  height  in  the  Wady 


I'liNsicAi.  i'i:.\i  rRi:s.  i<(  )rM).\kii;s.  .\\i>  (iiii.i    i*  )\v\s     15 

cl  Kurn.  Hcluccn  us  and  Tcirshiha  \vc  can  sec  the  great  terebinth 
which  overshadows  the  sacred  tomb  of  Nebi  Sibclan.' 

To  the  southwest  is  the  high  mountain  Druze  viUage  of  Beit  Jinn, 
rising  out  of  the  maze  of  bush-crowned  hill  and  valley  which  con- 
stitutes the  district  known  as  el  Jebal  or  "the  Mountain."  This, 
but  for  the  continuous  and  ruthless  destruction  wrought  by  the 
charcoal  burners,  would  be  a  great  forest,  as  it  probably  was  in 
olden  days;  there  are  few  ruins  here.  Beyond  Beit  Jinn  and  hidden 
from  our  view  is  the  wide  open  valley  of  el  Bukei'^a,  one  of  the  tribu- 
taries of  the  Wady  cl  Kurn,  in  which  is  the  village  of  el  Bukei^a, 
with  its  mixed  Druze,  ^loslem,  Christian,  and  Jewish  population. 
The  town  lies  in  a  veritable  oasis  of  verdure,  a  product  of  its  copious 
springs.  One  of  its  admiring  inhabitants  compared  it  not  inaptly  to 
a  miniature  Damascus  in  the  style  of  its  dwellings  and  its  fresh,  well- 
watered  gardens.  Besides  so  much  of  Upper  Galilee,  the  Jermak 
view  includes  the  Bay  of  Akka,  Carmcl.  the  mountains  of  Samaria 
and  all  Lower  Galilee,  the  Lake  of  Tiberias,  the  Jaulan,  Hcrmon, 
and  the  Lebanon. 

The  northwest  portion  of  Galilee  is  a  richly  wooded  district  con- 
sisting of  a  vast  entanglement  of  hills  and  valleys  full  of  villages  and 
still  more  of  ruins.  Inasmuch  as  by  the  widest  estimate  of  the  true 
limits  of  the  Galilee  of  history  most  of  this  region  must  have  belonged 
to  Tyre,  it  needs  no  further  description  here.  Its  main  roads,  or 
rather  paths,  leading  to  Tyre  are  unusually  good  for  Palestine. 
They  wind  along  valleys  frequently  clothed  from  base  to  summit 
with  brushwood. 

The  higher  mountain  j)lateaus  are  as  a  whole  deficient  in  springs 
as  com])ared  with  Lower  Galilee.  Even  where  springs  are  ])rcscnt, 
water  is  scanty,  and  many  of  the  villages  are  entirely  dci)endent  on 
artificial  rain-filled  pools.  The  large  Alet^weleh  village  of  Bint  Umm 
Jebail,  famous  through  the  land  for  its  great  weekly  market,  has  a 
pool  so  considerable  that  even  in  September  I  found  boys'bathing 
waist  deep  in  the  water.     The  large  villages  of  Rumaish,  Hunin, 

•  There  is  a  tiny  village  around  the  tomb;  the  place  has  been  suggested  as  the 
site  of  the  town  of  Zebulun,  but  there  is  no  depth  of  debris  here  nor  any  ancient 
pottery.  If  Sibelan  contains  an  echo  of  Zebulun.  the  ancient  site  must  be  under  the 
adjoining — though  lower  lying — village  of  Khurfaish,  which  is  certainly  an  old  site. 


l6  STUDIES  IN  GALILEE 

Tersheiha,  Suhmata,  *^Alma,  and  others  are  entirely  dependent  on 
such  pools  as  these  for  their  water  for  domestic  uses  and  for  their 
cattle.  Safed  has  many  springs  in  its  neighborhood,  some  of  them 
very  good  ones.  El  Jish  and  Meron  each  have  good  fountains  in 
valleys  below  them  about  half  a  mile  away. 

This  lack  of  water  is  largely  compensated  for  by  the  "dew  clouds" 
which  in  all  the  late  summer  months  fall  at  night  so  copiously  over 
the  land.  Such  "dew"  occurs  all  over  Palestine,  but  nowhere  in 
such  plenty  as  in  the  highlands  of  the  north.  It  is  most  important 
to  agriculture;  without  it  the  harvest  may  be  long  delayed  and  even 
may  be  partially  lost,  for  the  Fellahin  maintain  that  they  dare  not 
gather  the  ripened  grain  when  absolutely  dry,  as  after  the  parched 
sirocco,  because  the  grain  will  fall  in  the  process  of  reaping.  After 
a  night  of  "dew"  there  is  no  such  risk.  Then  for  the  grapes,  the 
figs,  and  the  olives,  indeed  for  all  the  autumn  crops,  this  heavy 
"dew"  is  essential. 

This  is  the  "dew"  {tal)  of  the  Bible,  but  it  is  really  the  product 
of  clouds  which  are  blown  often  from  the  north,  from  Hermon,'  and 
settle  on  the  highlands  after  sunset.  The  gauzy  cloud  may  be 
seen  blown  overhead  as  the  evening  closes  in,  and  in  the  early  morn- 
ing the  mist  lies  thick  over  the  ground  and  fills  all  the  deeper  valleys. 
How  heavy  is  this  "dew"  may  be  judged  by  the  fact  that  when  one 
September  I  traversed  the  central  ridge  of  Galilee  northward  toward 
Hermon,  it  was  inadvisable  on  any  night  to  sit  without  a  mackintosh 
outside  the  tent  after  sunset,  and  every  morning  the  tent  canvas 
was  soaked  with  water,  the  moisture  dropping  audibly  off  the  edges. 

The  products  of  this  mountain  region  are  many — wheat,  barley, 
Egyptian  maize,  lentils,  cucumbers,  pumpkins,  and  melons.  Ohves 
are  plentiful  as  far  north  as  Kefr  Ber'^im,  but  north  of  that  on  the 
central  plateau  they  are  very  scanty.  There  the  people  either  pur- 
chase olive  oil,  or  use  oil  which  they  produce  themselves  in  con- 
siderable quantities  from  sesame  (oilseed).  Figs  are  cultivated 
everywhere.  Mulberries,  walnuts,  apricots,  pears,  and  other  fruits 
flourish  in  favorable  spots.  Oranges,  lemons,  and  citrons  are  grown 
in  the  deeper,  warmer  valleys  around  Safed.  Vines  flourish  in  this 
district,  and  many  acres  of  vineyards  are  now  yielding  well  in  several 

■Cf.  Ps.  133:3. 


l'lI^sI(•Al.  I  i:\irk i;s,  iioi  xdariis.  wd  ciiii:!'   iowns     17 

of  the  Jewish  colonies,  e>i)cii;illy  at  ^\in  cz  Zcitiin  and  at  I\o>h 
Pinna  (Janineh)  near  Sated.  Tohaeco  is  ^rown  extensively,  espe- 
cially in  the  north  and  west,  but  solely  for  local  use;  indeed  the 
authorities  of  the  "Tobacco  Regie'"  so  despise  it  that  they  shut 
their  eyes  to  its  culti\alion. 

The  great  natural  fertility  of  Galilee  as  a  whole,  as  compared  with 
Judea,  may  be  ascribed  to: 

1.  Its  comparatively  excellent  water  supply.  Even  where  the 
springs  are  scanty  the  "dew"  is  very  heavy. 

2.  The  gentler  slope  of  the  hills  and  the  wider  plains. 

3.  The  deep  rich  soil  in  which  is  mixed,  in  many  parts,  the  detritus 
of  volcanic  rock. 

4.  The  fact  that  over  much  of  the  hills  the  native  growth  of 
brushwood  has  been  left.  In  Judea,  where  every  available  foot  of 
the  soil  had  to  be  utilized,  the  native  growth  has  in  many  places 
been  entirely  destroyed  to  allow  of  the  hills  being  terraced  for  culti- 
vation. But  when  the  terraces  fell  from  neglect,  the  earth  gradually 
was  washed  down  the  hillside  to  the  valley  below.  In  Lower  Galilee 
this  has  also  occurred  in  many  places.  With  careful  terracing  the 
possible  area  of  cultivation  might  be  vastly  increased. 

One  last  characteristic  of  modern  Galilee  remains  to  be  mentioned 
briefly,  namely,  its  remarkably  mixed  population.  In  Lower  Galilee 
most  of  the  inhabitants  are  either  Moslems  (i.  e.,  orthodox  Sunnites), 
Christians  (either  Greek  orthodox  or  Greek  Catholic),  or  Jews. 
But  when  we  reach  the  confmcs  of  Upper  Galilee  many  new  elements 
appear.  At  Rameh,  Beit  Jinn,  el  Bukei'^a,  and  elsewhere,  we  come 
across  Druzes.  In  Safcd,  besides  Jews  from  ail  parts  of  the  world 
and  native  Moslems,  there  are  Kurds  and  .\lgerians.  In  the  villages, 
on  the  high  thoroughfare  to  the  north  there  is  a  new  religion  or  race 
in  every  second  village.  M  Ras  el  .Ahmar,  '^.■\lma,  and  DeishCln 
there  are  Algerians.  In  a  separate  village  of  ^\lma,  on  the  same 
plain  anrl  within  sight  of  its  namesake,  there  is  a  large  settlement  of 
Circassians,  a  race  which  has  also  settled  in  other  spots.  In  the 
extreme  north,  near  B.inias,  there  i-  one  village  of  Xasairiyeh  and 
another  of  Turkomans. 

'  Who  have  a  monopoly  of  tobacco  and  can  if  they  wish  forbid  its  cultivation  or 
destroy  what  thev  do  not  need  for  their  own  use. 


1 8  STUDIES  IX  GALILEE 

As  a  whole,  in  the  northwest  quarter  the  Christians  are  Alaronites, 
and  the  followers  of  Mohammed  are  Metaweleh,  i.  e.,  Shiites.  Both 
sects  agree  in  fanatical  intolerance  of  all  others.  Kefr  Ber^im,  ^Ain 
Ibl,  and  Dibl  are  Maronite  centers.  One  of  the  largest  Metaweleh 
villages  is  Bint  Umm  Jebail,  but  this  sect  is  in  the  majority  all  over 
the  northern  area  and  in  the  environs  of  Tyre  it  constitutes  70  per 
cent,  of  the  population.     They  will  not  eat  with  any  but  the  mem- 


BANIAS 

bers  of  their  own  religion;  they  will  destroy  a  food- vessel  used  by 
an  unbeliever.  In  many  respects  they  are  very  unlike  their  Moslem 
(Sunnite)  neighbors;  their  women  go  unveiled  and  have  none  of  the 
assumed  modesty  of  the  ordinary  oriental  women  toward  strangers. 
It  is  said  that  when  one  of  their  men  has  to  go  a  long  journey,  and 
particularly  on  military  service,  he  hands  over  his  wife  to  a  friend 
who  takes  her  into  his  own  household  until  the  real  husband's  return, 
when  the  wife  is  handed  back;  but  the  friend  retains  any  children 
she  may  have  born  to  him  during  her  temporary  marriage  to  him.' 

'  This  is  similar  to  some  of  the  customs  mentioned  in  Robertson  Smith's  Kinship 
and  Marriage  in  Arabia. 


rn\sic.\L  rK.\rrRi:s.  ii()r\i).\Rii;s,  .\\i>  (1111:1    iowns     19 


20  STUDIES  IN  GALILEE 

As  a  rule  a  village  is  either  entirely  of  one  sect  or  at  most  of  two, 
and  the  several  communities  never  intermarry.  Though  the  basis 
of  separation  is  religious  differences,  there  is  now — if  not  originally 
in  all  cases — a  considerable  physical  difference  that  enables  one  who 
knows  the  people  well,  to  recognize  at  once  to  which  community 
any  individual  belongs.  Taken  as  a  whole,  the  people  of  Northern 
Palestine  are  physically  finer  than  those  of  Southern  Palestine. 
Their  costumes  also,  which  are  very  varied  and  often  extremely 
picturesque,  are  superior  to  those  of  the  Fellahin  of  the  south. 

C.      THE    UPPER    JORDAN    VALLEY 

The  Talmud,  as  has  been  mentioned,  divides  Galilee  into  the 
"Upper"  the  "Lower,"  and  the  "Valley."  This  last  section,  com- 
prising the  Upper  Jordan  Valley  and  the  two  lakes,  is  a  district  of 
great  importance  to  Galilee,  though  by  no  means  in  all  history  included 
politically  within  it.  It  was  always  a  valuable  frontier  to  the  moun- 
tain region  and  when  belonging  to  the  mountaineers  must,  with  its 
abundant  water  supplies  and  rich  verdure,  have  been  a  cherished 
possession.  Much  that  is  said  (chap,  iii)  about  Gennesaret  will 
apply  to  a  large  part  of  the  Upper  Jordan  region.  Although  it  is 
rightly  described  as  part  of  Galilee,  the  upper  portion  would  appear 
to  have  been  looked  upon,  before  the  time  of  Herod,  as  a  separate 
district,  wild  and  unsubdued,  in  the  marshes  of  which  robbers  found 
a  refuge.^ 

It  is  the  Jordan  and  its  tributaries  which  give  the  distinctive  charac- 
ter to  this  region.  Two  of  the  sources  of  the  Jordan  must  be  consid- 
ered as  rising  outside  of  Palestine  proper.  Of  these  the  more  north- 
erly is  the  picturesque  "^Ain  Fuwwar,  below  Hasbayeh,  in  which 
the  water  bubbles  up  in  a  little  pool  and,  descending  under  the  name 
Nahr  Hasbani,  turns  the  Wady  el  Teim  into  a  paradise  of  verdure. 
Below  this  oasis  the  river  has  cut  for  some  miles  a  deep  channel 
southward  through  a  mass  of  lava.  At  the  well-known  bridge  on 
the  road  to  Banias  the  stream  may  be  seen  running  upon  a  bed  of 
limestone,  having  in  the  course  of  ages  cut  through  the  whole 
thickness  of  the  volcanic  rock.  The  second  of  the  northerly  sources 
of  the  Jordan  is  the  little  Nahr  Bareighit  which  drains  the  fertile 
Merj  "^Ay^n — the  "Meadow  of  Springs" — known  to  us  in  the  Bible 

I  Josephus,  B.  J.,  I,  xvi,  5. 


I'lnsicAL  FF-:ATrRi:s.  liorN'DARir.s,  \\i)  cnn.i    towns     21 


Ificl'^ 


^I'wrjis 


2  2  STUDIES  IN  GALILEE 

(I  Kings  15:20;  II  Kings  25:29;  II  Chron.  16:4)  as  Ijon.  The 
water  rises  in  two  large  fountains  and,  being  much  used  for 
irrigation,  it  is  only  a  small  stream  that  descends  by  a  series  of 
cascades  past  M'utelleh  and  the  great  Tell  Abel  (Abel-beth-AIaacah 
mentioned  with  Ijon  in  the  above  references),  and  finally,  with 
contributions  from  streamlets  further  south,  joins  the  Hasbani  about 
a  mile  north  of  where  the  latter  loses  itself  in  the  true  Jordan. 

The  most  impressive  sources  of  the  Jordan  are  the  two  southerly 
oncb  at  Banias  and  Tell  el  Kadi  respectively.  At  the  former  site, 
1,080  feet  above  sea  level,  the  ice-cold  water  bursts  forth  in  a 
river  from  the  vast  accumulation  produced  by  the  collapse  of  the 
roof  of  a  former  sacred  cave.  The  water  tumbles  and  rushes  amid 
the  ruins  of  once  splendid  Caesarea  Philippi,  and  w^aters  a  corner  of 
Palestine  unequaled  even  today,  in  its  neglect,  for  its  picturesque  beauty 
and  for  its  handsome  timbered  glades.  Here  was  once  the  shrine  of  Pan, 
hence  the  name  Paneas.  By  Cleopatra  it  was  rented  to  the  robber 
chieftain  Zenodorus  and  in  20  B.  c.  came  into  the  hands  of  Herod 
the  Great;  by  Herod  Phihp  it  was  named  Caesarea  Philippi;  and  by 
Herod  /\grippa  II,  after  entertaining  here  in  pleasure  and  cruel 
sports  the  conqueror  of  his  people,  it  was  called  Neronias  in  flattery 
of  another  Caesar.  All  these  names  are  now  forgotten  locally  and 
the  shrine  of  Pan  is  by  its  inhabitants,  who  cannot  pronounce  P, 
today  called  Banias.  "Everywhere,"  writes  Tristram,'  "there  is  a 
wild  medley  of  cascades,  mulberry  trees,  fig  trees,  clashing  torrents, 
festoons  of  vines,  bubbhng  fountains,  reeds  and  ruins,  and  the 
mingled  music  of  birds  and  waters."  The  source  at  Tell  el  Kadi  (500 
feet  above  sea  level)  is  in  many  respects  a  contrast  to  all  this.  Here 
the  waters  quietly  bubble  up,  in  volume  much  greater  than  at  Banias, 
from  the  western  end  of  a  great  tell.  Part  unite  to  form  a  pool 
to  the  west,  but  the  larger  volume  descends  as  a  quiet  millstream 
past  one  of  the  most  impressive  sacred  groves  in  the  land.  This  great 
tell  is  probably  the  site  of  Dan,  for  Kady  (Arabic)  and  Dan  (Hebrew) 
both  mean  "judge;"  w4iile  in  the  name  of  the  river  which  here  arises,  el 
Leddan,  there  is  possibly  an  echo  of  the  ancient  name.  In  the  time  of 
Josephus'  the  spot  was  apparently  known  as  Daphne,  where  was, 
he  says,  the  temple  of  the  golden  calf. 

I  Land  of  Israel,  p.  5S6.  ^  B.  J.,  IV,  i,  i. 


I'lnsicM.  I  i.\ii  Ki;s.  K()r.\i)\kii;s,  wd  (  iiii.i    iowxs     23 


24  STUDIES  IX  GALILEE 

The  two  rivers,  the  Nahr  Banias  and  the  Nahr  el  Leddan,  run 
southward,  independently,  for  some  five  or  six  miles  and  then  join 
to  make  one  stream. 

Besides  these  four  main  streams,  a  great  many  rivulets  burst  up 
from  the  basalt  along  the  whole  northern  extremity  of  the  valley. 
These,  together  with  the  numerous  irrigation  canals,  make  the  center 
of  this  district  a  scene  of  running  waters  and  flooded  fields  in  which 
are  cultivated  quantities  of  rice,  maize  (Indian  corn),  and  cotton. 

During  the  past  decade  or  two  there  has  been  a  marked  increase  in 
cultivation  here,  and  by  means  of  irrigation  canals  fruitful  areas  like 
those  around  Zuk  el  Tahta  and  el  Khalisah  have  been  converted  into 
acres  of  beautiful  gardens.  Here  and  elsewhere  there  are  large 
clumps  of  handsome  silver  poplars — the  growth  of  which  as  timber  is  a 
profitable  industry — as  well  as  orchards  of  fruit  trees.  What  has  been 
done  is  but  a  fraction  of  what  might  be  accomplished  under  more 
careful  husbandry.  As  it  is,  the  larger  part  of  the  great  fertile  plain 
between  the  Jordan  sources  and  the  Huleh  marshes  is  given  over  to 
Bedawin  who,  besides  the  crops  mentioned,  raise  quantities  of  bar- 
ley, durra  (Egyptian  maize),  and  sesame  (oil-seed).  Recently  the 
plain  north  of  the  Huleh  has  been  extensively  drained  and  converted 
from  marsh  to  pasture  land  through  the  artificial  lowering  of  the 
Jordan  bed  below  the  Huleh  Lake'  and  there  are  now  many  hundred 
more  acres  of  useful  land  than,  say,  forty  years  ago,  when  "Rob 
Roy"  ]\IacGregor  made  his  famous  journey.  A  number  of  little  vil- 
lages are  dotted  over  the  plain,  and  near  the  northern  end,  besides 
many  mills,  there  rises,  half  hidden  in  trees,  the  large  mansion  which 
the  sheikh  of  the  Fadl  tribe  has  recently  built  as  his  residence. 

At  intervals  along  the  long  line  of  the  Western  Galilean  Mountains 
copious  fountains  give  rise  to  streams  for  further  irrigation  of  the 
plain.  Near  these  spots  are  to  be  found  at  various  seasons  the 
encampments  of  the  Ghawarinch  Bedawin  with  their  flocks  of 
buft'aloes,  cattle,  and  goats.  Never  were  creatures  more  adapted  to 
their  environment  than  these  buffaloes  which  on  hot  days  lie  almost 
entirely  submerged  in  the  running  streams  or  the  marshy  pools,  in 
marked  contrast  to  their  cousins,  the  cows,  which  stand  in  the  broiling 

I  This  work  has  been  done  by  the  managers  of  the  Tchiflik — the  late  sultan's 
private  property. 


l'II\Sl(\l,   I  I.A  11  RI.S,    |{(  )l  ADAKIIS.  AM*  (Mil, I     I  (  t\\  \S       25 

sunshine  bul  km-r-dci'i)  in  thi-  cool  uaitTs.  The  Arabs  nn-nlioncd 
make  great  (|uanlilics  of  mats  out  of  the  i)a])\ru>  reeds  from  thi-  neigh- 
boring swanij),  where  llourishes  the  greatest  solid  mass  of  ])aj)yrus  in 
the  world.  The  men  gather  the  reeds  and  sj)lit  them  into  (lat  bands 
which  the  women  and  girls  weave  on  very  |)rimitive  looms.  Of 
these  mats  the  peojjle  make  their  own  houses,  and  ihey  dispose  of 
great  numbers  as  floor-mats  to  the  Fellahin  of  the  mountains. 

''Ain  el  Mellahah  is  the  largest  of  these  springs;  its  waters  rise  in 
a  large  fish-iilled  pool  and,  after  working  several  mills,  enter  Lake 
Huleh  as  a  stream  of  considerable  volume.  Towering  immediately 
above  this  great  source  is  the  lofty  hill  of  Harraweh  which,  from  both 
its  conspicuous  position  and  its  extensive  ruins,  must  have  been  once 
a  place  of  great  importance  and  is  very  generally  considered  to  be 
the  site  of  Hazor.'  An  ancient  highroad  skirts  the  foot  of  these 
western  hills,  running  from  fountain  to  fountain,  and  at  several  spots 
along  this  route  may  still  be  seen  sacred  groves  of  terebinths  where 
the  superstitious  come  for  cure  of  disease,  or  deposit,  in  the  guardian- 
ship of  the  "spirit  of  the  grove,"  brushwood,  bundles  of  papyrus,  or 
plows,  well  knowing  that  no  one  will  dare  violate  the  shrine. 

Lake  Huleh  itself  is  a  shallow  expanse  of  water  3^  miles  long  by 
3  miles  wide;  its  bottom  is  covered  thick  with  water  weeds  whose 
swaying  branches  lie  almost  everywhere  just  below  the  surface,  while 
at  many  spots  the  yellow,  and  here  and  there  the  white,  water  lily 
adorn  the  muddy  waters.  Fish  abound;  the  catfish  and  the  miisht 
are  caught  in  quantities  both  by  the  cast  net  from  the  shore  and 
from  boats  by  means  of  the  m''batten.^  Among  the  many  birds  found 
here,  the  beautiful  white  pelican  is  {)articularly  conspicuous;  when 
on  the  wing  it  is  a  strikingly  noble  bird.  The  shores  on  the  east 
or  west  sides  of  this  triangular  sheet  of  water  are,  except  after  heavy 
rain,  fairly  firm;  on  the  west,  rich  wheat  land'  comes  close  up  to  the 
beach  though  standing  some  six  feet  above  it.  Along  the  northern 
edge  of  the  open  water  there  floats  a  dense  mass  of  papyrus — 
some  6  miles  long  and   iV  miles  broarl — su|)j)orting  in  its  interstices 

'  See  Josephus,  Ant.,  \,  v,  i. 

'  Rabbi  Schwarz  says,  "this  lake  is  called  by  the  Arabs  Bahr  Chit,  'wheat  sea,' 
because  much  wheat  is  sown  in  the  neighljorhood,"  p.  47.  This  name  I  have  never 
heard;    it  is  I  think  a  confusion  with  the  name  Ard  el  Khait. 

3  See  chap.  ii. 


26  STUDIES  IX  GALILEE 

many  smaller  plants.  The  Jordan,  which  loses  itself  at  the  northern 
extremity  of  this  mass  of  tloating  vegetation,  reaches  the  lake  along  a 
narrow  winding  open  channel.  When  rowing  here  in  a  clumsy 
fishing-boat  in  1907  I  was  unable  to  ascend  this  channel  more  than 
a  hundred  yards,  but  "Rob  Roy"  ^lacGregor'  in  his  slender  canoe 
threaded  the  narrow  passage  a  distance  which  he  calculates  was  three 
miles.  -  Whether  the  channel  is  today  as  it  was  then — 40  years  ago — is 
a  question  which  it  needs  another  adventurous  canoeist  to  decide.  My 
impression  is  that  the  present  channel  very  rapidly  narrows,  then  dis- 
appears as  a  single  open  channel.  We  did  not  iind  the  pap}Tus  reeds 
as  high  as  he  described  them — 15  to  20  feet;  the  average  height,  after 
carefully  measuring  many  specimens,  was  about  8  to  10  feet.  The 
fishermen  are,  we  learned,  accustomed  from  time  to  time  to  burn  the 
reeds  to  restrain  their  advancing  growth,  and  this  may  account  for  their 
smaller  size. 

On  the  western  shore  of  the  Huleh  is  the  Jewish  colony  of  Jessod 
Hamaalah,  generally  known  as  Ezbaid,  from  the  Arabic  name  of  the 
district.  Here  may  be  seen  hundreds  of  beautiful  eucalypti  growing  in 
their  greatest  perfection  with  massive  trunks  and  lofty  spreading 
branches.  The  colonists  are  not  as  prosperous  as  they  deserve  to  be, 
because  of  a  malignant  form  of  malaria  and  that  scourge  of  Africa, 
blackwater  fever,  which  are  both  endemic  here.  There  is  no  doubt 
that  more  might  be  done  than  has  yet  been  attempted  to  improve  the 
sanitary  condition.  The  extensive  gardens  and  plantations  are  today 
in  a  condition  less  flourishing  than  some  years  ago,  when  the  settlers 
received  more  outside  assistance.  Just  south  of  Ezbaid  is  the  squalid 
village  of  et  Teleil,  supposed  by  some  to  be  the  Thella  mentioned  by 
Josephus^  as  the  eastern  boundan,-  of  Galilee.  Around  this  place  are 
encamped  numbers  of  pseudo-Bedawin,  some  of  whom  are  descendants 
of  Kurds  who  settled  there  a  centur\'  or  more  ago.  The  whole  plain 
west  of  the  Huleh,  known  as  Ard  el  Kheit,  is  one  of  marvelous  agricultural 
richness  and  in  the  spring  there  are  miles  of  waving  grain. 

Lake  Huleh,  the  Lake  Samachonitis  of  Josephus,  has  been  popu- 
larly identified  with  the  Waters  of  Meron  of  Josh.  11:5-7.  It  is  an 
identification  which  rests  on  but  little  probability.  The  expression 
"waters"  (^■-)  is  an  unusual  one  for  any  lake-like  expanse  and  there 

I  See  Rob  Roy  on  the  Jordan.  »  B.  J.,  Ill,  iii,  i. 


i'ii\sic.\i.  I  i:\i  rui;s,  hoindariiis,  wd  (  iiii:i    iowns     27 

is  no  trace  of  a  sur\ival  of  the  nanu-  MiToni  in  tin-  imnu-fliali-  nci<^hl)()r- 
hood.  An  echo  of  the  name  does,  however,  ajjpear  to  remain  in 
Meron  and  MarOn  cr  R^s,  villa<^es  in  Ui)j)er  Galilee.  The  dislricl 
of  Meron  may  have  been  there  and  the  "waters"  may  have  been  the 
name  of  some  springs  within  that  area.  The  modern  name  Huleh 
mav  with  j)robability  be  traced  back  to  Ulatha,  a  name  given  by  Josc- 
phus  to  this  very  region.  It  was  a  division  of  the  country  by  itself, 
associated  with  Paneas,  which  belonged  to  the  freebooter  Zenodorus, 
but  later  to  Herod  the  Great.'  On  the  shores  of  the  Huleh  (Samacho- 
nitis)  was  a  town  called  Seleucia  which  was  on  the  border  of  Agrippa's 
kingdom.' 

The  Huleh  i)lain,  which  is  bounded  on  the  west,  north,  and  cast 
bv  high  mountains,  is  even  to  the  south  very  detlnitely  limited  by 
a  number  of  low  volcanic  hills  which  appear  from  a  distance  to 
convert  it  into  a  closed  basin.  However,  the  Jordan  has,  here,  as 
farther  north,  managed  to  cut  for  itself  a  deep  channel  through  the 
obstruction.  For  the  first  two  miles  the  descent  is  gradual  and 
the  sluggish  stream  peacefully  winds  through  meadow  lands,  until 
it  reaches  the  Jisr  Benat  Ya'^kub.  This  mediaeval  bridge  probably 
derives  its  name,  "the  bridge  of  the  daughters  of  Jacob,"  not  from 
any  association  with  the  patriarch,  but  from  a  connection  which  it  had 
in  the  days  of  the  Crusades  with  a  nunnery  of  St.  James  (who  is  called 
in  .\rabic  Va^kub),  the  tolls  on  this  bridge  having  been  given  to  the 
nunnery.^  Just  below  the  bridge,  where  there  is  a  ruin  on  a  low 
hill  known  today  as  Kusr  ^Atra — the  remains  of  the  Chateau  Xeuf 
of  the  Crusaders — the  river  commences  its  rai)id  plunge  downward. 
For  some  six  or  seven  miles  tlic  river  rages  and  tumbles  in  a  bed 
deep  cut  in  the  lava  until,  as  the  Bataihah  is  approached,  its  waters 
are  diverted  to  many  mill  streams.  Thence  the  much  impoverished 
main  stream  makes  a  cjuiet  passage  seaward  through  low  banks  of 
alluvial  deposit,  overhung  at  many  spots  by  beautiful  trees.  In  the 
twelve  miles  of  river  between  the  two  lakes  the  total  fall  is  689  feet, 

I  Attl.,  W,  X,  2. 

'  B.  J.,  IV,  i,  I.  Schumacher  would  idcnuiy  MiuKiych,  a  place  seven  miles  to 
the  southeast  of  the  lake,  with  Seleucia,  but  this  is  opposed  to  the  statement  of  Josephus. 
See  The  Jaulan,  p.  257. 

3  Sec  Palestine  Exploration  Fund  Quarterly  Statement,  1S98,  p.  29. 


28  STUDIES  IN  GALILEE 

an  average  descent  of  57  feet  to  the  mile,  but  over  the  central  section 
the  rate  of  fall  is  very  much  greater.  The  Valley  of  the  Jordan  in 
this  part  is  inhabited  by  a  few  Bedawin  who  manage  to  avoid  the 
taxes  and  escape  the  justice  of  the  government  by  crossing  to  the 
east  side  when  "wanted"  by  the  governor  of  Safed,  or  to  the  west 
side  when  "wanted"  by  the  Damascus  authorities. 

The  Lake  of  Galilee  is  characterized  by  its  rich  alluvial  plains 
to  the  north  and  south,  the  great  prevalence  of  volcanic  rocks  near 
its  shores,  its  own  natural  riches,  and,  more  than  all,  by  its  historic 
associations.  The  two  great  alluvial  plains  at  the  northwest  and 
northeast  corners  of  the  lake — el  Ghuweir  and  el  Bataihah — are 
described  elsewhere.'  At  the  southern  end  the  old  lacustrine  depo- 
sits" present  toward  the  present  lake  a  line  of  low  marly  cliffs  divided 
by  the  Jordan  at  its  exit.  On  the  cliff  to  the  west  of  the  river  mouth, 
just  above  the  lake,  is  el  Kerak,  once  the  site  of  the  Taricheae  of 
Josephus;  to  the  east  the  cliffs  are  surmounted  by  the  village  of  es 
Semakh,  a  place  which  has  recently  sprung  into  notice  through  its  rail- 
way station:  a  rough  wooden  pier  has  been  erected  here  for  the  con- 
venience of  passengers  proceeding  to  Tiberias.  There  is  a  ford  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Jordan  and,  when  the  water  is  raised  by  the  spring  floods, 
a  ferry;  but  a  bridge  must  some  day  be  erected  here  connecting 
Tiberias  with  the  railway  station.  A  little  farther  down,  the  shallow 
river  eddies  and  swirls  over  the  ruins  of  two  ancient  bridges.  The 
hill  of  Kerak  is  almost  an  island,  a  backwater  of  the  river  half  filling 
the  deep  trench  which  isolates  it  on  the  part  not  abutting  on  lake  or 
river. 

On  the  northern  shore  the  lava  reaches  the  lake  wherever  the  alluvial 
land  is  absent;  on  the  east  the  clifTs  are  largely  volcanic,  overlying  the 
limestone,  and  on  the  west  the  lava — part  of  the  Hattin  outflow — 
lies  all  along  the  summit  of  the  limestone  hills.  Along  the  eastern 
side  there  is  a  plain — in  places  nearly  a  mile  wide — between  the 
mountains  and  the  lakes;  to  the  west  the  plain  is  narrower  but 
reaches  considerable  breadth  near  Tiberias. 

The  lake  is  13  miles  long  by  8  miles  broad;   its  water  is  pure  and 

1  See  chaps,  ii  and  iv. 

2  That  is,  the  sedimentary  deposits  laid  down  by  the  great  lake  which  once  filled 
this  whole  valley. 


I'llVSlCAI,  FKAllRKS,   H(  )IN  DARIIIS,  AM)  ClIIKl     ToWNS       29 


30  STUDIES  IX  GALILEE 

limpid;  storms  are  rare,  but  local  squalls  of  considerable  \iolence 
sometimes  occur  with  extraordinary  rapidity.  Sailing  on  the  lake 
requires  practical  experience  because  of  this,  and  because  the  gusts  of 
wind  coming  dowm  the  valley  mouths  strike  the  water  in  unexpected 
directions.  There  is  a  difference  of  from  two  to  three  feet  in  the  level 
of  the  lake  in  the  spring  and  autumn.'  Recently  the  phenomena  known 
as  "seiches,"  which  have  been  studied  with  such  detail  on  the  Swiss 
and  Scottish  lakes,  have  been  obser\Td  here.'  The  rises  appear  to  be 
about  three  an  hour. 

Around  the  shores  of  the  lake  are  the  sites  of  many  famous  towns. 
Near  the  entrance  of  the  Jordan  is  et  Tell,  the  site  of  Bethsaida.  On  the 
opposite  side  of  the  river,  about  two  miles  to  the  west,  is  Tell  Hum,  the 
ruin  of  Capernaum.  Less  than  two  miles  to  the  north  of  this  is  Khurbet 
Kerazeh,  the  site  of  Chorazin.  At  the  northwest  comer  of  the  lake  is 
el  Mejdel,  now  but  a  squalid  village,  by  tradition  the  site  of  Magdala. 
Hidden  in  the  mountains  farther  west  is  Irbid,  the  ancient  Arbela. 
Between  el  Mejdel  and  Tiberias  lay  Bethmaus,^  which  may  have 
occupied  an  isolated,  ruin-crowned  hill  at  the  mouth  of  Wady  Abu 
el  ^Amis.  Modem  Tiberias  occupies  but  a  small  area  of  the  great 
Roman  city  which  once  flourished  here.  The  ancient  walls  can  still 
be  traced,  and  included  within  them  was  the  lofty  hill  to  the  southwest, 
then  the  Acropolis.  Founded  some  five  or  six  years  before  the  ministry 
of  Jesus,  on  a  contaminated  site,  and  populated  by  Antipas  with  all  the 
riflf-raff  he  could  induce  to  go  there,  it  was  for  years  considered  un- 
clean by  the  Jews.  Subsequently  the  irony  of  fate  made  it  one 
of  their  most  sacred  cities,  the  seat  of  the  Sanhedrin,  and  a  great  rab- 
binical school.  Later  it  was  a  stronghold  of  militant  Latin  Christian- 
ity against  the  Saracen.  Now  it  is  a  poor,  squalid,  but  nevertheless 
"holy"  city  of  the  Jews— the  last  surviving  "town"  of  this  once  densely 
populated  lake  shore.  South  of  Tiberias,  near  the  present  hot  baths, 
was  probably  the  ancient  Hammath  (Josh.  19:35),  and  certainly  the 
Emmaus   of  Josephus.-*     At  the  southwest  comer  is  a  tell  known  as 

I  See  the  Palestine  Exploration  Fund  Quarterly  Statement,  igoSj^p.  363. 

'  A  limnogram  extending  over  ten  hours,  taken  by  the  present  writer  at  the  Lake 
of  Galilee,  was  recently  exhibited  by  Professor  Chrystal  in  a  lecture  at  the  Royal 
Institution  of  Great  Britain  as  a  fine  example  of  a  seiche. 

3  Josephus,  Vita,  12. 

4  Ant.,  XVIII,  ii,  3;  B.  J.,  IV,  i,  3. 


rinsicAi.  ii:\i'rRi;s.  i>(»r\i)\kiis.  wd  ciiii;!    iowns     .^i 

Snn  vn  Xahni  which  a|)])(.ars  to  hr  the  sili-  of  Sinnabris;  while  ujx)!! 
the  extensive  level  hill  at  the  mouth  of  the  Jordan  known  as  el  Kerak  we 
must  recognize  the  site  of  Taricheae,  a  city  greater  than  Tiberias  itself, 
which  at  one  time  gave  its  name  to  the  whole  lake.  \S])on  the  lofly 
heights  just  south  of  the  Hieromax  (the  modern  \'arnnik)  the  great  (ireek 
city  of  Ciadara  (now  the  squalid  village  of  M'^Keis)  overlooked  the  lake 
and  all  its  surroundings.     Nearer  the  shore  and  half-way  up  the  eastern 


EL  MEJDKL.  THE  I'ROHABLE  SITE  OK  MAODALA 


coast  lay  Gamala,  built  U]jon  a  strange  camel-shaj)ed  hill  known  as 
Kulat  el  Husn,  a  place  celebrated  for  its  extraordinary  natural  strength 
and  the  braver}'  of  its  inhabitants.'  Somewhat  inland  from  this  hill^ 
between  it  and  the  modern  village  of  Fik  (the  .\phek  of  I  Kings  20:  26), 
is  the  shajx^lcss  ruin  of  Susiyeh,  the  Susitha  (Sr"C1C)  of  Talmudic 
writers'  and  therefore  the  Hijipos  of  Joscphus.  a  Greek  city  which 
gave  its  name  (Hippcne)  to  the  whole  district.'     Some  two  miles  north 

■  B.  J.,  I,  iv,  8;  and  IV,  chap.  i. 

'  Bereshilh  Rabbah,  chaps,  .x.xxi,  xx.xvii,  etc.  3  B.  J.,  III.  iii,  i. 


32 


STUDIES  IX  GALILEE 


w 


% 


IMIVSICAI.  I  KATIRKS,   IJOlNI  ).\RH:S,  AM)  CIlIKr  'I'(  )\VNS      33 

of  iIk-  Kill  at  tl  Ilusn  the  liill<,  which  farther  south  arc  some  distance 
from  the  shore,  ai)i)roach  wiiliin  40  feci  of  the  lake;  and  here,  on  the 
high  ground,  is  the  ruined  site  of  Kersa,  or,  as  Schumacher'  calls  it, 
Kursc,  which  certainly  represents  the  ancient  Gerasa,  attached  to  which 
was  the  country  of  the  Gcrasencs'  {R.  l'.,  Mark  5:1;  Luke  8:25), 
where  the  incident  of  the  swine  occurred.  Origen'  stales  that  a  cily 
of  this  name  existed  on  the  shores  of  the  lake  and  that  near  it  was  a 
precipice  down  which  the  swine  ran. 

The  circuit  of  the  lake  thus  included  in  New  Testament  times  a 
considerable  variety  of  elements.  There  was  the  great  Roman  city  of 
Tiberias,  pagan  and  disreputable,  yet  for  a  time  the  capital  of  the 
district.  On  hill  tops  overlooking  the  lake  were  the  free  Greek  cities 
of  Gadara,  Hippos,  and  (apparently)  Gerasa,  intensely  anti-Jewish 
and  hated  in  turn  by  the  Jews.  In  the  midst  of  gentile  elements 
rose  Taricheae  and  Gamala,  each  destined  shortly  to  be  the  scene  of 
a  bloody  tragedy  in  the  Jewish  war  of  independence.  Around  two- 
thirds  of  the  circumference  memory  calls  back  the  sound  of  the  clash 
of  arms  and  discordant  cries  of  the  conquerors  and  the  conquered,  while 
in  times  of  peace  almost  everywhere  incense  rises  to  heathen  gods. 
Only  upon  the  quiet,  fertile,  northern  shore  in  the  unfortified  Jewish 
towns,  within  sight  of  the  "kingdoms  of  this  world  and  the  glory 
of  them,"  one  must  ever  think  of  those  quiet  and  beneficent  labors  of 
Him  who  from  this  one  district  gathered  out  a  large  proportion  of  those 
who  are  immortal  as  the  ambassadors  of  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven. 

'  The  J  aid  an. 

»  See  art.  on  "Gerasenes"  in  Encyclopaedia  Biblica.     Gerasa  is  there  considered 
more  probable  than  Gergesa. 
3  In  Ev.  Joann.,  6:  24. 


THK  IXLAXD  FISHERIES  OF  GALILEE 


CHAITKR  II 
Tin;  IM.AXI)  1  ISIIKRIKS  OF  GALILKE" 

The  lakes  of  Galilee  have  been  famous  for  their  plentiful  supplies 
of  fish  all  through  history.  In  the  Roman  period  fishing  boats  on 
the  larger  lake  appear  to  have  been  numbered  by  the  hundred;  now 
there  are  not  many  over  a  score.  During  my  residence  in  Safed  my 
attention  was  ver\'  naturally  called  to  the  fishing  industry  in  which 
many  of  my  neighbors  were  interested.  Probably  no  place  in  North- 
ern Palestine,  off  the  sea  coast,  receives  so  large  and  so  regular  a 
supply  of  fish  as  the' mountain  town  of  Safed.  In  the  cool  weather 
it  comes  from  the  whole  northern  shore  of  the  Lake  of  Galilee  and 
from  the  little  lake  el  Huleh;  but  in  the  summer,  chiefly  from  el 
Bataihah,  the  great  marshy  delta  of  the  Jordan  at  the  northeastern 
comer  of  the  Lake  of  Galilee.  From  here,  processions  of  mules, 
loaded  with  boxes  of  tish,  make  the  live  hours'  journey  to  Safed  at 
least  once,  and  often  twice,  in  the  twenty-four  hours — except  during 
the  Sabbath.  It  is  indeed,  as  the  last  proviso  implies,  particularly 
for  the  Jews  that  the  fish  is  brought.  So  great  is  the  demand  that 
fish  is  often  cheaper  and  more  plentiful  in  Safed  than  at  Tiberias, 
although  it  is  Tiberias  men  that  do  all  the  fishing. 

The  Government  tax  on  all  fish  taken  from  the  lake  and  from 
the  adjoining  Jordan,  is  one-fifth.  Like  all  the  taxes  this  is  "farmed 
out,"  and  the  '^Ashshdr  (tax  collector)  pays,  it  is  said,  i.ooo  Turkish 
pounds  ever)'  three  years  for  his  right  of  taking  one-fifth  of  all  the  fish 
caught.  In  addition  to  this,  the  owner  of  el  Bataihah,  <^.\bd  er  Rah- 
man, a  Pasha  in  Damascus,  has  private  rights,  and  a  Safed  Jew  paid 
him  200  napoleons'  annually  for  the  exclusive  control  of  all  the  fishing 
there.  He  engages  the  fishermen  and  pays  them  a  percentage  on 
all  the  fish  sold.^     The  HQleh  and  ^\in  Mellahah  fishing  rights  are 

•  .•Mmost  the  whole  of  this  article  appeared  in  the  Quarterly  Statement  of  the  Palestine 
Exploration  Fund.     It  is  reprinted  here  by  permission  of  the  Committee  of  the  Fund. 

'  The  previous  three  years  the  rent  was  only  iSo  napoleons. 

J  Two  piastres  for  each  roll  of  the  best  fish  and  one  piastre  per  roll  for  the  inferior 
kinds.     .\  piastre  is  a  little  less  than  two  pence,  rni'lish  money. 

37 


38  STUDIES  IN  GALILEE 

under  the  khijiik — the  management  of  the  Sultan's  private  property. 
There  are  no  government  taxes,  and  the  fishing  rights  are  let  annually 
to  a  Christian  for  260  napoleons.  He  engages  his  own  fishermen — 
from  the  Bedawin  in  the  neighborhood — and  pays  all  expenses.' 

Fishing  off  Tiberias  is  only  followed  to  a  considerable  extent 
during  the  winter  and  early  spring  months.  It  is  not  nearly  so  impor- 
tant as  that  along  the  northern  shore  from  Mejdel  to  el  Bataihah. 
The  bay  at  et  Tabighah  is,  during  the  early  months  of  spring,  a  won- 
derful place  for  fish;  they  swarm  there,  attracted  by  the  copious  hot 
springs  which,  loaded  with  vegetable  debris,  here  pour  their  waters 
into  the  lake.  For  about  three  months— mid-January  to  mid- April — 
the  fishermen  make  this  their  headquarters,  erecting  a  few  tents  or 
reed  huts  on  the  shore,  close  to  the  mills.  While  the  water  a  few  yards 
out  teems  with  larger  fish,  the  shallows  close  in  shore  swarm  with 
small  fish-fry. 

The  fishing  of!  el  Bataihah  is  by  far  the  most  valuable  on  the  whole 
lake.  Here,  close  to  the  mouth  of  the  Jordan,  as  well  as  in  the  waters 
of  that  river,  fish  may  be  taken  all  the  year  round— though  varying 
in  kind  according  to  the  season.  The  fishermen,  whose  homes  are 
in  Tiberias,  make  temporary  reed-mat  shelters  for  themselves  while 
on  shore,  beside  which  they  spread  out  their  nets  along  the  beach 
to  dry  (cf.  Ezek.  24:5,  14;  47:10).  It  is  interesting  to  notice  that 
this,  the  richest  fishing-ground,  is  close  to  the  ruin  et  Tell,  which  is 
generally  acknowledged  to  be  the  site  of  the  village  of  Bethsaida, 
the  "place  of  fishing,"  which,  according  to  Josephus,  was  afterward 
officially  renamed  Julias.^ 

At  el  Huleh  and  the  ^Ain  el  Mellahah  stream  (which  flows  into 
this  lake)  fishing  is  carried  on  by  very  primitive  methods.  The 
Bedawin  fishermen  occupy  a  mat  hut,  made  of  papyrus,  on  the  western 
shore,  close  to  the  Jewish  settlement  of  Ezbaid.^  During  the  day 
they  catch  fish  by  means  of  the  "cast  net,"  as  will  be  described; 
but  at  night  they  employ  boats  and  use  the  ni'hatten.'^ 

From  the  Lake  of  Galilee  fish  is  carried  fresh  to  Safed,  Nazareth, 
and  other  places  in  Galilee,  and  is  dried  and  salted  for  the  Damascus 
and  Jerusalem  markets.     From  el  Huleh  and  <^Ain  el  Mellahah  fish 

I  This  was  in  1907.  *  See  chap.   v. 

3  Really,  ez  zubaid.  4  More  correctly  written  mubatten. 


iNi.WD  I  isiiKKiKS  ()i   (;\i.ii.i:k  39 

is  sent  to  Sat\-(1,  to  Mcrj  Ayun  (five  or  six  hours  uway).  and  to 
Damascus.  In  the  ca-c  of  tin-  latter  si)ecial  precautions  have  to  be 
taken;  the  lish  {iiiiislil  and  harbiV)  is  cau,^ht  toward  the  evenin.t^,  is 
sorted  out  on  reed  mats,  and  packed  and  (Hspatched  the  same  ni.t^ht. 
Salted  lish  is  also  sent  from  liere  to  Zahleli  and  other  places  in  the 
Lebanon.  During  the  summer  months  lish  cannot  be  sent,  in  a 
fresh  state,  far  from  the  lakes;  most  of  it  goes  to  Safcd,  and  in  this 
season  almost  all  of  it  consists  of  carj)  and  barbel. 

The  average  price  of  the  best  fish  in  Safed  is  from  ten  to  fourteen 
piastres  a  roll,  or  about  four  |)ence  a  ])ound.  Catfish,  which  is  always 
cheajier,  may  be  as  low  as  a  third  of  this  when  there  is  a  glut  in  the 
market. 

Almost  all  the  fish  are  caught  by  means  of  nets,  of  which  there 
are  three  kinds:  the  "cast  net"  or  sJiabakch,  the  "draw  net"  or  jarj, 
and  the  m'baltcn.  The  old-fashioned  method  of  poisoning  fish  is 
still  at  times  resorted  to  by  amateurs.  At  Tiberias  crumbs  of  bread 
mixed  with  cochineal  (which  ai)pears  to  be  a  fish  poison)  are  thrown 
on  the  water,  and  I  am  told  that  even  '^arak  (spirits  of  wine)  is  also 
sometimes  used.  The  Arabs  at  ^Ain  el  Mellahah  sometimes  capture 
the  fish  in  that  i)Ool  by  means  of  i)oison,  and  they  also,  when  the 
weather  is  getting  colder,  and  the  lish  by  instinct  make  for  the  deeper 
waters,  stretch  nets  across  the  stream  and  make  big  hauls.  Vet 
another  method  employed  at  times  at  Tiberias  is  that  of  using  a 
weighted  string  of  sharp,  unbaited  hooks  which  are  rapidly  drawn 
through  the  water,  and,  if  skill  is  usefl,  often  come  up  with  several 
impaled  victims.  This  may  have  been  the  method  referred  to  in 
Matt.  17:27.  It  is.  however,  the  regular  fishing  with  nets  which 
alone  is  of  commercial  im])ortance. 

The  "cast  net"  is  a  small  circular  net  with  small  bars  of  lead 
attachefl  all  round  its  margin:  to  the  center  is  usually  fi.xed  a  small 
cord.  It  is  apparently  the  a/xc/x'/SXr/a-rpoi/  of  Matt.  4:18,  and  Mark 
1:16.  Three  sizes  are  used,  differing  in  wideness  of  spread  and  in 
fineness  of  mesh.  The  smallest  size,  used  for  sardinncn,  is  known 
as  cl  muklieiycr;  the  second,  the  most  commonly  used,  is  called  csli 
shabakch  (a  name  usually  a])i)lied  by  the  jjublic  to  all  "cast  nets") 
or  ^Ashraneyeli  Kajajch;  while  the  largest,  used  only  in  midwinter 
for  the  largest  miisht,  is  called  ^Ashraneych  Saroseyeh,  or  simply 


40  STUDIES  IX  GALILEE 

es  saroseyeh.  It  may  be  of  interest  to  give  the  dimensions  of  samples 
of  the  two  latter  which  I  have  recently  measured.  The  shahakeh 
measured  in  length,  from  the  center  cord  attachment  to  the  lead 
weights,  II  feet  6  inches.  When  spread  out  fully  the  circumference 
was  39  feet  3  inches.  There  were  seventeen  meshes  to  the  lineal  foot. 
The  saroseyeh  measured:  length,  11  feet  6  inches;  circumference, 
61  feet  4  inches;  mesh,  ten  to  a  lineal  foot.  The  method  of  using 
the  "cast  net"  is  as  follows:  The  fisherman  carefully  arranges  the 
net  on  his  right  arm,  the  weights  hang  free  but  the  net  is  wound  up. 
As  the  fine  mesh  gets  readily  in  a  tangle  he  critically  examines  the 
weights  to  see  that  none  are  out  of  place.  He  then  advances  into  the 
water  up  to  his  waist,  having  gathered  his  scanty  garments  well  out 
of  the  way;  he  cautiously  looks  around  till  he  sees  some  indication  of 
fish — a  few  fins  showing,  a  troubled  surface,  or  a  fish  jumping — and 
then  with  a  bold  swing  of  his  arm  he  deftly  lets  his  net  fly  through  the 
air  so  that  it  spreads  out  flat  and  descends  into  and  through  the  water 
with  its  weighted  edges  in  a  complete  level  circle.  As  it  does  so,  it 
necessarily  shuts  in  all  the  fish  in  the  area  over  which  it  falls.  The 
fisherman  knows  the  lie  of  the  net  by  means  of  the  cord  in  his  hand. 
He  then  walks  over  the  net,  feeling  with  his  feet  the  nature  of  its 
contents,  and  flattening  it  down  in  his  progress  so  that  the  fish  become 
well  entangled  in  its  meshes.  He  now  draws  it  up  again  by  means 
of  the  center  cord,  and  as  he  carefully  twists  it  up  over  his  arm  he 
disentangles  the  captives  one  by  one.  He  may  in  this  way  capture 
several  dozen  fish  in  one  throw,  indeed  (specially  when  the  net  is 
used  in  conjunction  with  the  jarf,  as  described  below),  so  great  may 
be  the  mass  of  fish  that  the  net  cannot  be  raised  but  must  be  dragged 
on  shore.  It  is  seldom  that  the  skilled  man  casts  with  no  result 
whatever.  It  is  delightful,  as  I  have  repeatedly  done  both  along  the 
north  shore  of  the  Lake  of  Galilee  and  at  el  Huleh,  to  watch  the  skill 
and  precision  with  which  the  net  is  flung. 

The  jarj  or  "drag  net"  is  as  much  as  400  meters  long.  In  mesh 
it  is  as  fine  as  the  shahakeh.  It  is  used  at  the  lake  chiefly  during  day- 
light, but  along  the  Bay  of  Akka  many  of  these  nets  are  employed 
after  sunset  with  lanterns  and  torches  to  illuminate  the  scene.  The 
net  is  paid  out  of  a  boat  in  an  immense  semicircle,  the  two  ends  being 
near  the  shore.     The  upper  side  floats  by  means  of  corks,  the  lower 


INLAND  riSIIKRIKS  OK  (i.M.I  l.i;i.  41 

is  kept  down  In*  sm:ill  lead  weights.     As  soon  as  the  net  is  in  position 

the  men  on  the  shore  commence  the  process  of  hauHng  it  in.     Four  men, 

if  j)Ossil)le.  take  charge  of  each  extremity;  they  have  long  r()j)es  fixed 

to  the  lower  and  upper  corners  so  that  they  drag  in  the  bottom  at  the 

same  time  as  the  top.     In  dragging  in  the  net  they  fix  the  ropes  to  their 

belts,  and  in  order  that  a  steady  and  uninterrupted  pull  may  be  kept 

up  each  man  nearest  the  landward  end  of  the  ropes,  as  soon  as  there  is 

room,  leaves  otT  his  hold  there  and  runs  forward  to  seize  the  roj)es  at  the 

net-end  as  they  come  in  shore.     The  fishermen  consider  it  a  matter 

of  importance  that  when  once  the  net  has  commenced  to  come  in, 

there  should  be  no  pause  in  its  progress.     As  the  center  parts  begin 

to  come  into  shallow  water  some  of  the  fishermen  assist  its  progress 

by  jumping  or  diving  into  the  water  and  lifting  the  weighted  lower 

side  over  the  large  stones.     This  is  particularly  necessarv'  at  Tiberias, 

where  there  are  many  large  stones  all  over  the  bottom.     Finally  the 

net  reaches  the  shore,  having  "gathered  of  every  kind"  (Matt.  13 :48j. 

Clearly  the  net  {a-ayrjvrf)  here  described  was  the  draw  net. 

-     > 

The  tn  batten  (really  <,j^^^ ,  meaning  "lined,"  a  word  used  for 
the  lining  of  clothes)  is  a  compound  net  about  200  meters  long,  made 
of  three  nets  of  equal  length  and  breadth  all  fixed  to  one  suspending 
rope.  The  two  outermost  nets  have  a  wide,  that  in  the  center  a  fine, 
mesh.  Like  the  yar/,  one  long  side  is  floated  near  the  surface  by  means 
of  corks,  while  the  other  is  weighted  down  with  lead.  In  order  to 
distinguish  its  situation  in  the  dusk  or  dark  a  floating  empty  petroleum 
tin  is  fixed  to  the  two  ends.  A  fish  coming  in  contact  with  the  net 
passes  easily  through  the  nearest  outer  net,  but  the  middle  one  he, 
in  his  struggles,  pushes  in  front  of  him,  through  the  meshes  oj  the  third 
net,  in  such  a  way  that  when  he  tries  to  retreat  he  finds  himself  hope- 
lessly entangled  in  a  kind  of  bag  of  netting — covering  his  broad  end. 

The  m'batten  can  be  laid  in  any  depth  of  water  as  it  does  not 
touch  the  bottom,  but,  as  a  matter  of  experience,  the  fishermen  find 
that  the  biggest  hauls  are  made  usually  not  far  from  the  shore.  The 
net  is  paid  out  in  a  long  line  parallel  to  the  shore;  the  fishermen  then 
row  their  boats  slowly  along  its  whole  length  and  back  again — par- 
ticularly on  the  landward  side — in  order  to  frighten  the  fishes.  If 
there  is  a  large  catch,  the  net,  weighted  down  with  its  contents,  sinks 
in  the  middle.     When  this  happen-  it  i-  immcdiatrlv  h.Tuled  on  board 


42  STUDIES  IN  GALILEE 

the  two  boats.'  If  there  is  no  such  result,  the  net  may  be  left  out 
from  the  middle  of  the  night  till  daybreak.  Before  paying  out  the 
nets,  the  fishermen  are  often  able,  even  in  the  darkest  nights,  to  locate 
a  shoal  of  tish  by  the  sound  of  the  hshes  opening  and  shutting  their 
mouths   at   the   surface. 

Ofif  Tiberias  yet  another  method  has  been  adopted  in  recent  years. 
It  was  found  that  the  musht,  who  are  a  very  wily  fish  and  the  most 
difificult  to  catch,  frequently  managed  to  jump  over  the  floating  edge 
of  the  draw-net  after  they  had  been  surrounded,  so  a  new  device  was 
contri\ed.  Two  boats,  as  usual,  act  in  concert,  their  movements 
being  directed  by  a  man  stationed  on  a  point  of  the  shore  high  above 
the  water,  who,  from  this  vantage  ground,  is  able  to  detect  the  pres- 
ence of  a  shoal  of  musht.  Proceeding  to  the  spot  indicated,  the  fisher- 
men of  one  boat  quickly  drop  the  long  jar}  in  a  circle  round  the  shoal, 
while  those  in  the  second  boat  pay  out  an  ni'haUen — without  its  lead 
weights — all  round  the  circle,  keeping  it  stretched  out  fiat  on  the  level 
of  the  water  by  means  of  wooden  rods,  and  loosely  fixing  it  at  points 
to  the  fioating  edge  of  the  jarj.  The  musht,  finding  the  circle  closing 
in  round  them,  jump  the  edge  and  land  on,  and  are  entangled  in,  this 
floating  net.  The  jarf  may  now  be  dragged  to  land.  As  the  bottom 
of  the  lake  is  full  of  great  stones,  some  of  the  fishermen  dive  in  and 
assist  the  progress  of  the  weighted  side  over  these  obstructions.  When 
the  circle  is  very  full  of  fish  the  shabakeh  is  used  again  and  again  to 
partially  clear  the  jarj  by  securing  the  inclosed  musht;  under  such 
circumstances  this  net  is  often  brought  up  an  almost  solid  mass  of 
fish. 

The  Tiberias  fishermen  are  quite  a  class  by  themselves;  fine, 
stalwart  men,  mostly  Moslems,  with  a  few  Christians.  The  business 
is  hereditary  in  certain  families.  The  nets  are  usually  made  and 
mended  by  the  women  of  their  households.  Irregular  fishing  with 
the  "cast  net"  is  carried  on  by  Bedawin  living  near  the  Lake  of 
Galilee,  and  particularly  near  the  Hiileh. 

Although  it  does  not  do  to  argue  too  conclusively  from  modern 
customs  to  the  ancient  ones,  there  are  one  or  two  which  throw  some 
light  on  the  narrative  in  John,  chap.  21.  There  is,  first  of  all,  the 
unknown  Stranger  (vs.  4)  on  the  shore  who  tells  the  disciples  where 

'  In  these  maneuvers  two  boats  always  work  together;  cf.  Luke  5:7. 


INI. WD   I  ISII1;RII.S  ()|    (i AI.II.l'.K  4,5 

to  cast  llu'  lU't.  If  lln'ii,  as  now.  l'i>luTnK-n  utTc  aicusioim-d  to  liavc 
tlu-ir  nioNi'iiunts  (lircctcil  from  tlu-  >lion.'  at  tinu--.  at  any  rate — 
it  will  explain  tlu-  I'lshcrnK'n's  ready  response  to  the  directions.  Then, 
it  will  he  noticed  that  it  is  at  dawn  that  the  nets,  if  left  out  all  ni.t^ht, 
are  usually  hauled  in.  The  condition  of  Simon  (\s.  7)  is  readily 
understood  if  the  lishermen  were  accustomed  to  dive  into  the  water 
to  assist  the  progress  of  their  nets  along  the  bottom;  and  .s(j,  loo, 
his  ])hmging  in  with  his  "fisher's  coat"  to  meet  his  Master,  appears, 
also,  all  tile  more  natural  and  in  keeping  with  the  surroundings. 
The  fishes  described  (vs.  11)  as  "great"  would  jjrobably  be  members 
of  the  carj)  [Cyprinidac]  family,  which  often  exceed  two  feet  in  length. 
These,  today,  are  particularly  taken  in  the  "drag  net"  (vs.  8). 

With  regard  to  the  varieties  of  fish  it  is  unnecessary  here  to  give 
a  list  of  all  the  forty-three  kinds  found  in  the  inland  waters  of  Palestine. 
Many  of  them  arc  quite  small  and  others  extremely  rare.  I  shall  here 
almost  exclusivelv  refer  to  the  important  food  fishes  of  the  two  lakes 
of  Galilee  and  the  adjoining  streams. 

Zoologically  these  fishes  belong  to  three  families — the  Chromidae, 
allied  to  the  wrass;  the  Sihiridae,  or  catfishes;  and  the  Cyprinidac,  or 
carps.  A  small  blenny  (BIcnnius  varus)  is  also  found  in  the  lake,  but 
it  is  too  small  to  be  of  commercial  importance. 

The  Chromidae  are  the  most  characteristic  fish  of  Palestine.  In 
appearance  they  are  somewhat  like  their  allies — the  wrass.  They  arc 
broad  from  back  to  belly,  but  somewhat  narrow  from  side  to  side. 
They  have  a  long  dorsal  fin  running  the  greater  part  of  their  length, 
the  front  part  of  which  is  su])j)orted  by  fifteen  or  sixteen  strong  sharj) 
sj)ines.  while  a  broader  j)art  behind  incloses  about  a  dozen  softer  and 
more  llexible  s])ines,  lying  close  together.  The  eight  known  si)ecies 
are  distinguished  largely  by  di (Terences  in  the  numbers  of  these  si)ines. 
It  is  on  account  of  the  comb-like  back  that  the  fishermen  have  named 
this  fish  musht  (,b-iJ),  a  comb.  These  prickly  spines  are,  no  doubt, 
formidable  weapons  of  defense,  and  may  possibly  (though  this  has 
never  l:)een  j)roved)  ix'  j)oisonous  to  smaller  fish,  as  is  the  case  with  the 
weaver  fish,  but  they,  more  than  anything  else,  are  the  cause  of  their 
entanglement  in  the  line  meshes  of  the  fishermen's  net.  It  is  the  male 
members  of  this  family  of  fish  which  have  the  remarkable  habit  of 
carrying  the  sjjawn  anfl  the  young  fry  in   their  mouths  until  they 


44  STUDIES  IX  GALILEE 

develop  to  quite  a  considerable  size/  As  the  young  develop,  the  cheek 
pouches  become  enormously  distended,  and  the  unfortunate  parent 
is  unable  to  close  its  mouth.  How  it  can  feed — unless  it  feeds  on 
its  own  fry — is  a  mystery.  This  phenomenon  is  ver^'  commonly 
observed  with  the  kelb  {Hemichromis  Mrra)— indeed,  this  is  the  only 
variety  in  which  I  have  actually  seen  it — but  it  has  been  described 
in  other  species,  and  is  probably,  as  the  fishermen  emphatically  state, 
common  to  all  the  family.  During,  or  xery  soon  after,  the  breeding 
season  most  of  the  musht  disappear  entirely  from  their  usual  haunts — 
it  seems  probable  that  they  take  to  the  depths  of  the  lake.  Musht  of 
various  kinds  are  very  plentiful  during  the  winter  and  early  spring 
months,  particularly  immediately  after  storms,  but  are  very  scarce 
after  about  May. 

With  regard  to  the  varieties,  zoologists  describe  eight  species.  The 
fishermen  do  not  make  such  fine  distinctions.  The  common  com- 
mercial kinds  are  musht  abiad,  musht  lubbud,  and  kelb,  or  kuleibeh. 
Musht  abiad,  or  white  musht  is  that  known  as  CJiromis  niloticus,  a 
fish  found  all  over  the  Jordan  system  and  also  in  the  Nile.  Although 
a  very  light  color,  the  males,  during  the  breeding  season,  are  consider- 
ably darker,  with  marked  spots  of  a  lighter  color;  it  is  a  ven,^  hand- 
some fish  and  the  chief  favorite  for  the  table.  Well-grown  specimens 
are  eight  to  nine  inches  long.  In  addition  to  color  and  size,  this 
musht  is  distinguished  by  a  slightly  convex  forehead  and  a  slightly 
concave  tail. 

Musht  lubbud  is  that  known  scientifically  as  Chromis  tiberalis. 
Liibbiid  is  apparently  derived  from  JyJ,  meaning  "to  stick  together," 
"to  be  compact"  (hence  lebddeh,  meaning  "felt"),  and  may  refer  to 
the  extraordinary  compact  nature  of  the  shoals.  Thus  Tristram 
says:^  "  I  have  seen  them  in  shoals  of  over  an  acre  in  extent,  so  closely 
packed  that  it  seemed  impossible  for  them  to  move,  and  with  their 
dorsal  fins  above  the  water,  giving  at  a  distance  the  appearance  of  a 
tremendous  shower  pattering  on  one  spot  of  the  surface  of  the  glassy 

1  There  is  a  misprint  in  the  P.E.F.  Memoirs,  "Flora  and  Fauna,"'  p.  i66,  where 
it  says  of  these  fish-frj-  that  they  "do  not  quit  the  sheltering  cavity  till  they  are  about 
four  inches  long."  This  is  impossible.  They  leave  the  shelter  of  their  fathers'  mouths 
when  about  the  size  of  a  lentil,  and  apparently  tiever  return. 

2  "Flora  and  Fauna,"  P.E.F.  Memoir,  p.  165. 


IM.WI)  I  ISHi-RIKS  OF  CM. II, II'  45 

lakt'."  Hut  others  explain  it  as  rckTrin^  to  the  habit  of  this  fish  to 
clini^  to  the  ground  and  hide  under  stones — a  meaning  e(|ually  i)er- 
missible  to  the  Arabic  root.  This  is  the  most  jilentiful  of  all  the 
Chromidac.  Of  average  size,  perhaps  a  little  smaller  than  the  first 
mentioned,  it  is  distinguished  from  it  by  a  more  convex  forehead,  a 
darker  color,  and  a  slightly  convex  tail. 

The  kill)  ("dog" — a  name  also  ai)i)lied  to  the  "shark")  or  kuhibch 
("little  clog")  is  the  Hcmichroniis  sacra.  It  is  a  small  fi>h  than  the 
two  former,  from  which  it  is  easily  distinguished  by  its  narrower  shaj)e 
(from  back  to  belly),  its  concave  forehead  and  ugly  mouth.  It  is 
less  prized  as  food  than  these  others,  and  is  caught  also  slightly  later 
in  the  season.  It  is  in  best  condition,  however,  in  the  winter,  when 
it  fattens  on  the  sardinncn,  among  which  it  plays  havoc.  It  breeds 
mong  the  flags  and  bulrushes,  and  so  the  males,  doing  their  parental 
duties,  often  fall  victims  to  the  net. 

Some  of  the  smaller  Chromidae  are  called  ^adadi,  but  I  find  a  good 
deal  of  disagreement  among  the  fishermen  as  to  what  species  should  be 
so  called.  The  Memoirs  are,  however,  I  believe,  correct  in  saying  it 
is  the  Arabic  name  for  the  small  miisht.  Chromis  Flavii  Joscphi, 
which  is  distinguished  by  yellow  spots  on  the  anal  fin.  It  is  not  a 
table  fish.  A  Bedawy  fisherman  also  told  me  that  he  designated  one 
kind  as  marmar  (marble),  but  he  could  not  show  me  a  specimen. 
I  have  seen  a  small  miisht  in  the  pools  of  ^Ain  el  Madawereh  and  "^Ain 
et  Tineh  with  a  "marbled"  back,  which  may  be  the  kind  referred  to, 
but  I  have  not  had  the  chance  of  handling  it.  Karl  is  a  name  also 
applied  to  a  small  mushl,  "white  like  silver." 

The  "catfish"  of  Galilee — Clarias  macrocanthus — is  known  to  the 
fishermen  as  harbilr  (plural,  barabel).  This  is  the  fish  referred  to  by 
Josejjhus  {B.J..  Ill  X,  §8)  under  the  name  Coracinus,  as  found  in  the 
fountain  "Caphernaum."  It  has  a  great  head,  ornamented  with  a 
row  of  long  and  prominent  barbels,  and  when  it  grows  to  its  full  size — 
four  or  Cwc  feet — is  a  most  formidable-looking  beast,  and  does  great 
destruction  among  the  smaller  fish.  Such  large  individuals  are  rare; 
specimens  caught  for  eating  are  usually  between  two  and  three  feet. 
They  are  sold  very  cheaply,  because  they  are  forbidden  food  to  the 
Jews  on  account  of  the  absence  of  scales  i  Lev.  ii:io).     They  are 

'  The  verb  harh&t  is  a  collo(juial  .\rat)ic  word  for  making  a  splashing. 


46  STUDIES  IX  GALILEE 

sometimes  as  cheap  as  four  piastres  ijhd.)  for  a  roll  i  =  5  lbs.  10  ozs.). 
or  more  than  i^  lbs.  for  2d.  This  is  about  a  third  of  the  ])rice  of 
musht.  For  the  table  they  are  usually  cut  transversely,  and  fried 
with  butter  or  oil.  They  are  excellent  eating.  From  the  fact  that 
they  are  not  kosher,  i.  e.,  "pure,"  they  are  thought  to  be  the  "bad" 
fish  of  Matt.  13:48,  which  "they  cast  away."  The  habits  of  the 
catfish  are  in  many  ways  remarkable.  They  are  able  to  survive  a 
long  time  on  dry  land;  they  commonly  reach  Safed  alive.  This  is 
due  to  their  curious  arborescent  gills,  which  do  not  collapse  when 
out  of  the  water,  and  which,  as  long  as  they  remain  damp,  carr\'  on 
the  process  of  respiration  in  the  air.  Shortly  before  the  breeding 
season  these  creatures  become  very  lively:  I  have  seen  numbers  of 
them  tumbling  about  like  small  porpoises  on  the  surface  of  the  lake — 
near  its  middle — with  a  crowd  of  noisy  gulls  circling  over  them. 
Although  they  undoubtedly  creep  up  the  warm  streams,  and  along 
the  irrigation  canals — crossing  at  times  even  patches  of  dry  land — 
the  fishermen  say  they  do  not  (as  Tristram  states)  breed  in  these 
places  but,  in  the  Lake  of  Galilee  at  any  rate,  in  the  deeper  water: 
they  never  see  the  small  fry  of  the  barbut.  In  the  Huleh  they  disappear 
altogether  into  the  papyrus  swamps  for  four  months  after  May. 
When  seized  the  catfish  gives  a  curious  squeak,  something  like  a  cat. 

The  Cyprinidae,  or  carps,  are  a  large  family,  and  twenty-three 
different  species  have  been  described  as  occurring  in  Palestine.  Of 
these  the  most  important  food-fishes  are  the  kersln,  the  abu  kisher, 
the  hajdji,  the  hajdft  bandiik.  and  the  sardinneu. 

The  kersin,  known  also  as  abu  biiz,^  is  scientifically  Barbus  longi- 
ceps.  It  is  a  handsome  trout-like  fish,  often  over  two  feet  long.  Like 
all  the  carps,  its  upper  jaw  is  provided  with  small  barbules,  and  the 
corners  of  its  mouth  with  larger  ones.  It  is  one  of  the  best  fish  in  the 
district  for  eating,  its  special  attraction  on  the  table  being  its  absence 
of  the  many  small  bones  which  make  the  eating  of  musht  such  a  mixed 
pleasure. 

Closely  allied  to  this,  but  considerably  more  plentiful,  is  the  binny,^ 
or  abu  kisher  (also  known  as  kishereh).  The  latter  names,  meaning 
"scaly,"  are  given  on  account  of  this  fish's  remarkably  large  scales. 
The  specimens  which  come  to  the  market  are  usually  somewhat 

'  Lit.,  "father  of  a  mouth."  =  Lit.,  "cofifee  brown." 


I\l   \\|)   1  ISIII  Rli;S  ()!■    (lAI.II.KK  47 

snialliT  than  the  kcrs'ni,  l)ut  it  .i;r()u>.  I  ht-Hi-w.  at  tinio  to  tlic  same 
lenj^th  as  the  latter.     Zoologically  it  is  known  as  linrbus  auiis. 

The  hajafi  [Ca porta  iiamaschui)  is  essentially  a  river  I'ish.  It  is 
found  in  the  Jordan,  or  near  its  mouth,  as  well  as  in  rivers  all  o\er  the 
land,  ll  is,  as  its  Latin  name-  implies,  common  at  Damascus,  in  the 
Barada  River.  Specimens  which  I  j^ot  there  some  years  ago  measured 
one  foot,  and  this  is  about  the  average  size.  This  fish  is  yellowish  in 
color.  j)articularlv  on  the  heiiy.  and  in  llavor  is  inferior  to  the  two 
carj^s  i)reviously  mentioned. 

The  Capocta  syriaca,  a  closely  allied  species  common  in  all  the 
ri\ers  of  the  Jordan  system,  is  known  as  hajdji  handuk  or  "bastard" 
hajajl,  the  fishermen  thinkini^  that  the  fish  is  the  ])roduct  of  the  inter- 
breeding of  the  true  IfJ/Uji  with  some  other  species.  Another  bandi'tk 
is  Capocta  sorialis.  The  three  species  are  not  distinguished  in  trade. 
Vet  a  fourth  kind  is  kept  by  the  inhabitants  of  the  village  of  Deishun 
in  the  village  fountain:  it  also  occurs  in  a  neighboring  semi-under- 
ground pool.     It  is  known  as  Capocta  jratcrcula. 

The  fishermen  also  describe  banddik  (bastards)  of  the  kcrs'in  and 
the  abii  kishcr,  the  former  with  a  head  like  a  kcrsln  and  scales  like  the 
hijd*i,  and  the  latter  with  head  like  the  abii  biiz  but  scales  like  abii 
kishcr;  but  I  am  very  doubtful  whether  these  are  really  distinct  sj)ecies 
and  among  a  considerable  number  I  have  examined,  I  have  never 
found  one. 

Mention  must  also  be  made  of  the  sardinncn  {Alburnus  sillah),  a 
small  species  about  six  inches  in  length,  which  is  at  times  caught  in 
great  numbers  in  the  lake,  near  the  shore,  altliough  the  greater  ])art 
of  the  year  it  is  scarcely  met  with.  ])robably  because  it  keejjs  to  the 
deep  waters.  The  .\rabic  name  is  a  modern  one,  anfl  clearly  suggested 
by  their  resemblance  in  size  and  shape  to  sardines.  They  are  eaten 
fresh,  fried,  and  when  ])roperly  cooked  are  excellent,  but  tlu-y  are  not 
successfully  pickled.  Attempts  have  been  made  in  recent  years  to 
prepare  them  like  true  sardines,  but  without  much  success.  Never- 
theless, it  would  aj)])ear  not  improbal^le  that  they  were  the  sardines 
which  we  know  were  ])re])ared  here  and  were  even  sent  to  Rome. 
Perhaps  they  were  the  r"^i:  of  the  Talmud,  and  the  two  "  small  tishes" 
{oyjrdpiou)  of  John  6:ig.'  .\  >till  smaller  t'lsh  of  the  same  order, 
»  See  Kflershcim.  Life  and  Times  of  Jesus  the  Messiah.  \'ol.  I,  pp.  682,  683. 


48  STUDIES  IN  GALILEE 

known  to  the  natives  as  libbch,  but  scientifically  as  Descognathus 
lamta,  swarms  in  the  hot  springs  at  et  Tabighah.  It  is  a  pretty  minnow- 
like fish,  and  may  easily  be  caught  in  countless  numbers  with  a  muslin 
hand-net,  but  is  too  small  to  be  of  use  for  food.  In  the  similar  warm 
springs  near  the  Dead  Sea,  e.  g.,  "^Ain  Feshkhah,  another  little  fish, 
the  Cyprinodon  dispar,  of  the  family  of  the  "toothed  carps"  {Cypri- 
nodontidae)  occurs  in  numbers  equally  great. 


1 


GENNESARET 


(•ii.\rri;K  iii 

C.I'.WKSARKT' 

As  the  Lake  of  Tiljcrias  is  in  the  eyes  of  many  lovers  of  Palestine 
the  most  picturesque  and  the  most  sacred  of  all  spots  in  Galilee,  so 
Gennesaret  is  of  those  hallowed  shores  the  fullest  of  holy  associations, 
the  most  beautiful,  and  the  most  fertile.  In  no  ])lace  can  the  Savior's 
life  l)e  more  vividly  pictured;  nowhere  do  the  lake's  natural  attractions 
stand  out  so  jjrominently. 

The  earliest  mention  of  the  name  is  in  1  Mace.  11:67,  where  we 
read  that  "as  for  Jonathan  and  his  host,  they  pitched  at  the  waters 
of  Gennesar."  This  form  Gennesar  is  found  in  many  of  the  manu- 
scripts of  the  gosj)els,  as  well  as  in  Josej)hus,  and  is  considered  by 
good  authorities  the  nearest  to  the  original.  The  meaning  is  very 
doubtful.  l)ut  the  first  syllable  appears  to  be  the  Hebrew  "it.  a  garden 
or  park,  which  would,  from  the  descriptions  of  Josephus,  seem  to  be 
very  suitable.  From  the  New  Testament  data  it  is  clear  that  Gennes- 
aret was  at  the  northern  end  of  the  lake  and  to  the  west  of  the 
Jordan  (Matt.  14:,^'.  Mark6:53).  The  Talmud  identifies  Gennesaret 
with  the  Chinnercth  of  the  Old  Testament,  i.e.,  with  the  city  of  that 
name.  From  Josephus  we  learn  that  this  region  was  thirty  stadia 
by  twenty  stadia,  that  is,  nearly  four  miles  long  by  more  than  two 
and  a  half  miles  broad.  Gennesaret  is  famous  for  all  time  on  account 
of  its  connection  with  the  life  of  Christ;  no  spot  can  have  been  oftener 
visited  in  his  frecjuent  journeyings  to  and  from  his  "own  city,"  Caj)er- 
naum.  during  the  stirring  days  of  his  public  ministry.  In  this  neigh- 
borhoofl  were  done  most  of  his  mighty  works.  The  references  in 
the  go.spels  are  but  incidental;  for  a  dcscrijjtion  of  this  district  we 
must  refer  to  Josej)hus,  who  in  his  somewhat  exaggerated  language 
describes  it  as  a   veritai:)le  i)aradise.      He  writes   [U'lir.    Ill,   x.  8): 

Kxtt-ndinf;  along  tlic  lake  of  (icnnLsartt  and  lu-arinj;  also  its  name,  lies  a  tract 
of  countn,-,  a(iniiral>lc  both  for  its  natural  i)rojx.'rtics  and  its  lx*auty.     Such  is  the 

'  The  writer  would  express  his  indehtedness  to  Professor  Willi.Tm  Arnold  Stevens, 
of  Rochester  Theologii  al  Seminar)-,  to  whose  article  on  " Gennesaret, "  which  appeared 
in  the  Baptist  Quarterly  Rciiru.',  October,  1886,  the  present  writer  owes  much. 

5' 


52 


STUDIES  IN  GALILEE 


fertility  of  the  soil  that  it  rejects  no  plant  and  accordingly  all  are  here  cultivated 
by  the  husbandman;  for  so  genial  is  the  air  that  it  suits  every  variety.  The 
walnut,  v^^hich  delights  beyond  other  trees  in  a  wintry  climate,  grows  here  luxu- 
riantly, together  with  the  palm  tree,  which  is  nourished  by  the  heat;  and  near  to 
these  are  figs  and  olives,  to  which  a  milder  atmosphere  has  been  assigned.     One 


(GALILEE. 


Scale  <n  Engl.jk  Miits 


GEWESARET 
The  alluvial  plain  of  el  Ghuweir  and  the  adjacent  region. 


might  style  this  an  ambitious  effort  of  nature,  doing  violence  to  herself  in  bringing 
together  plants  of  discordant  habits,  and  an  amiable  rivalry  of  the  seasons,  each, 
as  it  were,  asserting  her  right  to  the  soil.  For  it  not  only  possesses  the  extraordi- 
nary virtue  of  nourishing  fruits  of  opposite  climes,  but  also  maintains  a  continual 
supply  of  them.  Thus  it  produces  those  most  royal  of  all,  the  grape  and  the  fig, 
during  ten  months  without  intermission,  while  the  other  varieties  ripen  the  year 
round. 


C.KWKSARKT  53 

Although  today,  in  its  sad  neglect.  Gcnnesaret  j)roduces  no  walnuts, 
grapes,  or  olives,  and  but  a  few  indilTerent  figs,  yet  there  is  no  spot 
in  all  Palestine  so  manifestly  and  so  richly  endowed  with  the  gifts  of 
nature,  nor  any  j)lace  on  all  the  lake  where  its  unchangeable  beauties 
can  be  seen  to  more  advantage.  The  deej),  rich  alluvial  soil,  the 
abundant  streams,  the  fostering  climate,  and  the  fair  vision  of  sur- 
rounding beauty  all  remain:  it  only  needs  that  the  hand  of  man  should 
be  stretched  forth  as  a  blessing  and  not  as  a  blight  to  make  the  place 
once  again  "blossom  as  the  rose." 

It  is  universally  accepted  that  the  plain  known  as  el  Ghuweir,  the 
little  Ghor  (the  Jordan  \'alley  as  a  whole  being  el  Ghor),  is  the  "  Plain 
of"  Gennesaret.  It  must,  however,  be  remembered  that  the  insertion 
of  the  qualifying  epithet,  "plain,"  is  an  after-invention,  unauthorized 
bv  either  the  Xew  Testament  or  Josephus.  It  is  impossible  that  this 
region,  producing  olives,  grapes,  and  figs,  could  have  been  only  an 
irrigated  plain,  for  these  fruits  are  never  produced  in  such  conditions. 
It  will,  however,  be  convenient  at  the  outset  to  make  the  j)lain,  el 
Ghuweir.  the  center  of  the  topogra]:)hical  description. 

El  Ghuweir  is  an  alluvial  ])lain.  a  kind  of  delta,  formed  by  the 
united  deposits  of  the  streams  which  have  made  and  are  still  deepening 
the  valleys  opening  into  it.  As  will  be  seen  by  the  plan  on  the  pre- 
ceding page,  a  large  area  of  Galilee  is  drained  by  these  streams. 
Those  who  have  traversed  the  deep  chasms  of  the  Wady  el  Hamam 
and  the  Wady  el  <^Amiid  must  realize  the  enormous  amount  of  se<li- 
ment  which,  during  long  ages,  has  been  carried  down  in  the  i)rocess  of 
their  erosion.  Such  alluvial  soil  is  proverbially  fertile,  but  here  the 
sediment  is  of  peculiarly  rich  (quality,  being  the  production  of  both 
basaltic  and  limestone  rocks.  The  three  great  basins  which  drain 
into  the  plain  are  named  after  the  gorges  through  which  their  streams 
reach  the  level:   the  Hamam,  the  Rubudiyeh,  and  the  "^Amud. 

Taking  these  in  order  from  the  south,  we  deal  first  with  the  Wady 
el  Hamam.  This  drains  the  volcanic  plateau  of  Hattin,  so  called  after 
a  village  beautifully  situated  below  and  to  the  north  of  the  well-known 
Horn>  of  Hattin.  An  abundant  spring  bursts  forth  from  under  a 
precijjitous  limestone  rock  southwest  of  the  village.  This  and  a 
smaller  sj)ring  lower  down  the  valley  are  in  the  dr}'  season  entirely 
used  uj)  in  the  irrigation  of  extensive  gardens.     Immediately  to  the 


54 


STUDIES  IN  GALILEE 


north  of  Hattin,  beyond  the  northern  Hmit  of  the  lava,  a  small  spring, 
<^Ain  el  Hamam,  breaks  forth  in  the  bottom  of  the  valley  and  irrigates 
some  fruit  gardens.     A  little  lower  down,  just  below  the  ruins  of  Irbid, 


jthi^n  ra^' 


I-  nin  Surar 

J  >!/'«  fiidaatJerek 

It^'/lv- etTimh 


GENXESARET 
The  district  is  shaded;   the  deeply  shaded  part  is  el  Ghuweir.     The  whole  basin  draining  into  the 
plain  is  inclosed  within  the  dark  dotted  line. 

the  ancient  Arbela,  water  breaks  forth  at  one  or  two  spots  in  the  valley 
bed,  but  only  during  and  immediately  after  rain  is  there  any  continu- 
ous stream.  As  we  descend  the  valley  the  scenery  becomes  increas- 
ingly striking.     The  path,  which  is  in  places  almost  impassable  on 


(iK.WKSARrr  55 

account  ot  1,'rcai  falltii  howldrrs,  I'litcrs  a  .i^'orj^c  between  massive  clilTs, 
in  i)laces  i)er|)en(licular,  more  than  a  tliou-and  feet  hij^'h.  In  the 
jjrecipices  to  the  rij^'ht  are  the  remains  of  a  ^reat  cavern  fortress — 
known  today  as  Kul'at  ihn  Ma'^an — which  in  l^oth  Jewish  and  Arab 
times  has  been  a  refuge  for  roblx-rs.  Herod  the  Great'  broke  up  a 
nest  of  robbers  here  by  letting  soldiers  down  from  the  cliffs  aljove 
in  cages:  this  also  would  ai)i)ear  to  be  the  "cave  of  Arbela"  which 
Josephus  fortified.'  Today  the  great  griffin  vultures  circle  around 
and  around  their  nests  on  its  inaccessible  ledges.  When  the  narrow 
gorge  commences  to  open  out,  there  breaks  forth  at  the  f(X)t  of  the 
northern  clitTs  a  copious  spring  known  as  "^Ain  Surar.  Its  waters  arc 
used  for  irrigating  some  gardens  lower  down  the  valley,  and  what 
remains  is  conducted  by  a  small  canal  in  a  direction  due  east  toward 
Mejdel.  to  be  distributed  over  some  vegetable  gardens.  None  of  the 
water  from  the  Wady  el  Hamam  reaches  the  lake.  The  old  channel 
is  not  only  dry  but  in  places  actually  filled  up. 

The  next  wady,  the  Rubudiyeh,  commences  its  course  in  some 
copious  springs  near  the  village  of  Farradeh.  It  drains  the  eastern 
end  of  the  Plain  of  Rameh,  and  for  a  cou])le  of  miles  it  is  perennially 
filled  with  a  coj)ious  millstream  from  "^Ain  et  Tabil.  It  runs  a  course 
two-thirds  of  a  circle  around  the  lofty  village  of  Mughar  el  Hazztir, 
being  here  called  Wady  Sellameh.  Below  Khurbet  Sellameh  the  wady 
is  dry  most  of  the  year  to  within  al)out  four  miles  of  the  lake.  Here 
there  bursts  forth  an  abundant  spring,  "^Ain  Rubudiyeh.  After 
gushing  out  of  a  rock  and  descending  in  a  cascade  forty  feet,  it  gives 
rise  to  a  stream  large  enough  to  work  several  mills,  besides  irrigating 
a  considerable  area  of  the  open  valley — a  most  charming  spot.  The 
stream  bed  again  narrows  as  the  water  forces  itself  through  an  outcroj) 
of  lava  which  has,  in  prehistoric  times,  flowed  into  this  valley,  .\bout 
three  miles  above  the  lake  it  gives  off  a  large  conduit  on  its  northern 
side,  which  runs  to  the  mill  situated  on  the  low  hill  of  .\bu  Shusheh. 
The  main  stream  plunges  down  a  somewhat  deep  and  stony  bed,  and, 
after  passing  the  ruins  of  some  mills,  enters  el  Ghuweir  and  runs  a 

'Josephus,  ll'iir,  I.   16:2-4. 

'  ^'/''.  5.U-  These  caves  are  also  referred  to  in  I  Mace,  g :  2,  and  Josephus,  .1  ntiq. , 
XII,  1 1 : 1.  They  were  also  fortified  during  the  Crusades.  The  existing  ruincfi  walls, 
vaults,  and  stairs  belong  to  this  period. 


56  STUDIES  IN  GALILEE 

sluggish  course  to  the  lake.  After  heavy  rains  the  stream  at  the  ford 
near  the  sea  is  comparatively  wide  and  deep,  reaching  above  a  horse's 
girth.  The  x\bu  Shusheh  millstream  pours  down  from  the  mill 
through  a  great  mass  of  rank  vegetation,  and  after  crossing  the  Tiber- 
ias-Safed  highroad  in  several  streamlets  its  waters  unite  into  a  small 
brook  which  enters  the  lake  north  of  the  Rubudiyeh  main  stream. 

The  basin  of  Wady  el  ^Amud  is  the  third  and  greatest  area  draining 
into  el  Ghuweir.  This  remarkable  valley  takes  its  rise  near  the  village 
of  Meiron  on  the  eastern  slopes  of  Jebal  Jermak.  It  receives  the 
drainage  of  the  east  side  of  the  whole  mountain  range  from  Jermak 
(the  highest  mountain  in  Palestine,  3,934  feet  high)  to  Jebelat  el  '^Arus. 
A  northern  branch  of  the  valley  comes  from  ^Ain  Jinn,  a  copious,  and 
at  times  intermittent,  spring.  Tributaries  to  this  northern  arm  carry 
down  the  drainage  of  part  of  the  volcanic  plateau  of  Merj  el  Jish  and 
at  neighboring  valleys.  In  the  winter  great  bodies  of  water  descend  to 
the  main  wady  from  the  Safed  district  to  the  east,  and  from  around 
Jebel  el  Bellaneh  on  the  west.  Although  liable  to  fluctuation,  the 
stream  in  this  valley  is  perennial  and  abundant.  The  upper  part  is 
known  as  Wady  et  Tawahin  (the  Valley  of  the  Mills) ,  because  of  the 
great  number  of  mills  there.  Part  of  it  is  also  known,  particularly 
to  the  Safed  people,  as  Wady  Leimon,  because  of  the  extensive  and 
beautiful  orange  and  lemon  plantations  there  situated.  For  miles 
the  deep  valley-bottom  presents  a  scene  of  verdure  and  cultivation 
such  as  is  seldom  seen  in  Palestine.  As  it  approaches  the  lake  the 
valley  gready  narrows  and  for  over  a  mile  the  stream  traverses  a 
narrow  gorge  between  precipitous  limestone  cliffs,  full  of  caves.  The 
valley  here  receives  the  name  Wady  el  <^Amud.  The  natives  account 
for  the  name  (the  Valley  of  the  Column)  by  the  appearance  of  the 
straight  and  lofty  cliffs  at  its  mouth;  but  Robinson'  states  that  he 
saw  a  column  twenty  feet  long  lying  near  its  entrance,  and  he  ascribed 
the  name  to  that. 

It  is  necessary  to  mention  here  a  source  of  confusion.  Some  of 
the  Bedawin  call  this  valley,  quite  incorretly,  Wady  el  Hamam, 
like  the  one  previously  described.  The  well-known  "Rob  Roy" 
MacGregor  was  led  astray  by  this.     He  writes:'     "One  of  these 

1  Researches,  Vol.  II,  p.  402. 

2  Rob  Roy  on  the  Jordan,  ist  ed.,  p.  367. 


(•■KWKSARK'r  57 

(streams),  '^Ain  ul    Amu  1.  coim-s  from  ihi-  >()Ulh  alonj^  the  W'lidy 
Hiimam  or  \'ale  of  Do\es,  etc." 

Where  the  stream  of  the  ^Amu'l  enters  llie  ojjen  plain  it  is  crossed 
bv  a  modern  bridge,  an<l  tlun  il  traverses  the  level  ground  and  enters 
the  sea  north  of  the  Abu  Shusheli  millstream.  The  remains  of  two 
considerable  irrigation  canals  north  of  this  stream  are  plainly  visible. 
One  leaves  the  '^.\mud  stream  just  as  it  emerges  from  the  gorge  and, 
winding  northeast  across  the  plain,  enters  the  sea  just  south  of  Khurbet 
Minia.  The  second  leaves  the  "^Amud  a  little  below  the  bridge,  and 
runs  seaward  between  the  before-mentioned  canal  and  the  main 
stream.  Both  these  canals  are  in  places  filled  up,  and  they  have 
not  been  used  in  tlieir  whole  length  for  years.  But  it  is  evident  that 
bv  their  means  the  plain  almost  up  to  Khan  Minia  has  been  watered 
by  the  northern  stream  within  com])aratively  recent  times.  In  ancient 
times  all  these  streams  must  have  been  used  to  fertilize  the  whole 
Ghuweir,  and  probably  also  the  lower  slopes  of  the  surrounding  hills. 
Now  the  water  is  largely  allowed  to  run  to  waste. 

One  stream  has  been  omitted  because  it  arises  in  the  j)lain  itself. 
Between  the  Wady  el  Hamanf  and  the  Rubudiyeh  streams  there 
arises,  close  to  the  Tiberias-Safed  road,  a  co])ious  s|3ring  known  as 
<^Ain  el  Madauwereh  (the  Round  Spring).  It  has  received  this  name 
because  it  arises  within  a  circular  basin  some  one  hundred  feet  in 
diameter.  The  masonry  is  Arab  and  the  purpose  of  the  basin  is,  as 
with  similar  constructions  at  Tabighah,  to  raise  the  level  of  the  water 
for  irrigation.  The  water,  which  has  a  temj)erature  of  73°  F.,  is 
ordinarily  about  three  feet  deej)  and  swarms  with  fish.  From  it  a 
perennial  stream  runs  through  a  thicket  of  tangled  brushwood  to  the 
lake.  A  conduit  from  this  sjjring  carries  its  waters,  when  needed  for 
irrigation,  toward  Mejdel;  indeed  it  is  j^robable  the  original  purpose 
of  this  birket  was  to  carry  water  into  such  a  canal.  The  remains  of  a 
canal,  parallel  in  |)arts  with  the  j)resent  one.  but  more  carefully  con- 
structed, are  still  visible  at  a  somewhat  higher  level  than  that  now  used. 

The  i^lain  itself  is  roughly  level  and  is  everywhere  intersected  by 
small  water  channels.  Near  its  center  there  arises  a  ragged  mass 
of  laval  rock — an  offshoot  of  the  Rubudiyeh  outcrop— called  Wa^ret  es 
Sawdah.  The  plain  around  Mejdel  is  cultivated  by  the  Fellahin  of 
that  village;    between  there  and  the  mouth  of  Wailv   Amud  bv  Telia- 


58  STUDIES  IN  GALILEE 

wiyeh  Bedawin;  Abu  Shusheh  is  inhabitated  by  Kharambeh  Bedawin; 
and  the  rest  of  the  plain  is  under  the  control  of  the  Sumeireh,  These 
tribes,  though  tent-dwelling  Arabs,  are  not  true  Bedawin  because 
they  cultivate  the  soil  like  the  Fellahin,  which  the  true  nomads  never 
do. 

Recently  the  plain  has  almost  in  its  entirety  passed  into  the  hands 
of  two  German  Roman  Catholic  societies.  The  northern  part  forms 
part  of  the  property  of  the  Tabighah  Hospice,  the  southern  part 
belongs  to  a  committee  which  has  purchased  a  great  part  of  Mejdel 
and  the  land  adjoining.  It  is  to  be  hoped  that  under  European  con- 
trol great  improvements  may  occur.  At  present  barley  is  raised,  and 
on  irrigated  portions,  maize,  melons,  marrows,  tomatoes,  peppers, 
badingan  (egg  plant'),  bamiyeh  {Hibiscus  esculentus),  etc.,  are  grown; 
but  large  areas  are  given  over  to  thistles  and  weeds.  In  early  spring 
it  is  a  brilliant  green  from  end  to  end.  There  is  a  sad  lack  of  trees; 
only  a  few  prickly  acacias  {sidr)  and  some  stumpy  palms  remain 
where  once  fruit  flourished  so  well.  Some  of  the  most  fertile  corners 
are  near  the  mouths  of  the  wadies. 

Seaward,  el  Ghuweir  is  bounded  along  most  of  its  length  by  a  clean 
gravelly  beach  of  tiny  stones  mixed  with,  and  in  parts  overspread  by, 
masses  of  beautiful  little  shells.  Inside  the  beach  is  a  fringe  of  olean- 
ders, brambles,  and  thorny  acacia;  in  places,  especially  near  the 
stream  and  canal-mouths,  the  shrubs  extend  to  the  water's  edge. 
This  shore  path  from  el  Mejdel  to  Khan  Minia  is  one  of  the  most 
charming  routes  in  all  Palestine.  It  varies  from  minute  to  minute, 
now  among  the  shrubs,  then  over  an  open  lawn,  along  the  bank,  or 
across  a  stream.  In  the  spring  every  grassy  patch  is  ablaze  with 
flowers,  anemones  in  particular  of  every  hue.  The  early  morning  and 
the  hour  of  sunset  are  the  perfect  times.  I  shall  never  forget  one  sum- 
mer when  I,  with  a  party  of  friends,  rode  all  night  by  moonlight  from 
Nazareth  to  Tabighah.  We  stopped  for  a  midnight  meal  at  Hattin, 
beneath  the  precipitous  cliffs,  and  then  traversed  the  wild  gorge  of 
the  Wady  Hamam,  As  we  emerged  from  its  close  confines  with  the 
full  moon  behind  us,  we  found  the  whole  plain  bathed  in  the  soft  light 
of  dawn  and  the  little  birds  around  us  commencing  their  morning 
songs.     As  the  quickening  light  momentarily  gathered  strength  over 

'  Solanum. 


(;FA'NESARri'  59 

the  Hilk  of  Bashan,  \\c  rode  this  path  he-side  the  gently  rii)i)Hng  waters; 
we  had  almost  reached  our  destination,  when  the  sun  rose.  I  have 
freciuentlv  crossed  this  i)lain  at  all  times  and  seasons,  but  I  have  always 
found  water  in  the  four  streams,  from  south  to  north — the  "^Ain  el 
Madauwereh.  the  Rubudiyeh,  the  Abu  Shusheh  millstream,  and  the 
Wady  "^AmQ  1.  Of  the  four,  the  Rubudiyeh  is  much  the  lar<^est.  The 
stream  beds  run  dry  only  when  a  great  cjuantity  of  water  is  temporarily 
diverted  for  irrigation. 

A  word  may  be  added  about  the  view  landward  from  the  center 
of  the  shore.  It  is  very  striking.  And  when  we  consider  that,  what- 
ever else  has  changed,  the  mountains  and  valleys  remain,  this  view, 
once  so  familiar  to  the  eyes  of  Jesus,  must  have  a  sacred  interest.  In 
the  distance,  to  the  southwest,  one  can  see,  between  the  two  precipitous 
cliffs  of  Wady  Hattin,  the  double-peaked  summit  of  an  extinct  vol- 
cano, the  Horns  of  Hattin.  To  the  north  of  this,  due  west  of  where 
we  stand,  is  a  great  flat-topped  hill  of  lava.  Northeast  lie  Abu 
Shusheh  and  some  ruined  mills  on  the  Rubudiyeh,  behind  which  is 
Jebal  Hazzur  with  the  village  of  Mughar  on  its  southeastern  slope. 
.\  little  to  the  north  of  this  is  Jebel  Bellaneh;  and  behind,  the  horizon 
is  composed  of  a  long  mountain  range— the  southern  line  of  the  Upper 
Galilean  hills,  running  from  Jebelat  el  ^Arus  to  behind  Rameh.  In 
front  of  Jebelat  el  ^Arus  is  the  mouth  of  the  Wady  <^.\mud;  and  to  its 
right,  flue  north  of  us,  is  Safed  and  the  bare,  rocky  range  of  Jebel 
Kanaan.  Northeast  lies  ^Oreimeh,  and  behind  that  many  e.xtinct 
volcanoes  of  the  Jaulan.     From  some  points  Hermon  is  also  visible. 

This  Plain  of  Gennesaret  has  always  been,  as  it  is  today,  a  great 
highroad.  The  famous  Via  Maris  passed  from  Damascus  and  the 
north,  through  the  Jaulan,  across  the  Jordan  at  the  Jisr  Benat  Ya^Kdb, 
past  the  Khan  Jubb  Vusuf,  and  descended  to  the  plain  at  the  Khan 
Minia.  It  then  crossed  the  i)lain  either  by  the  beach  road  or  by 
another  much-used  path  directly  through  its  center.  From  the  plain 
it  probably  ascended  the  Wady  Hamam  and  thence  ran  to  the  coast 
at  .\kka.  Another  branch  passed  to  P^gypt  via  the  Khan  et  Tujjar 
and  the  historic  pass  at  Megiddo.  And  a  third  road  skirted  the  west 
shore  of  the  lake  and  ran  south  through  Beisan.  Tcyasir.  and  Xablus. 
Today  all  these  routes  are  in  fretjuent  use,  but  the  Wady  .\bu  el  ^-\mis 
is  preferred  to  the  now  almost  impassable  Wady  Hamam. 


6o 


STUDIES  I\  GALILEE- 


^i''%-"{)iV\V\A 


^VJl^  ;>r;1rry)f 


TT^'U 


sjuiy^  p  n^o  %''/V\ 


CI.NM.SAKI   r  6l 

The  tnilVic  acnv^s  llu-  plain  i>  (.-ontiniiovis.  The  I'lrsl  tinu-  I  was  al 
Khan  Minia,  in  ihi' >i»rin.u  of  iSij,:;,  wliilc  wc  sat  al  hinch,  an  apparently 
interminal)le  jjrocession  of  youni;  camels-  many  hundreds— liled 
l)ast  us  ,^oin^  from  the  Hedawin  lands  east  of  the  Jordan  to  be  sold  in 
Ej^yi)t.  Another  time  when  I  crossed  ihe  i.lain.  1  passed  <!;reat  Hocks 
of  sheep  in  the  charge  of  Kurds  from  Krzerum  in  Armenia,  moving 
along  the  green  i)asturcs  of  Wady  Abu  cl  "'Amis  on  their  way  to  Kgyi^t. 
One  of  these  rough  shej)hcrds,  knowing  scarcely  a  word  of  Arabic, 
was  later  brought  to  me  in  Safed  from  Khan  Jubl)  \'usuf  for  medical 
treatment,  having  fallen  ill  so  many  hundred  miles  away  from  home 
on  this  long  journey.  During  harvest  time  caravans  of  thousands  of 
loaded  camels  pass  along  here  toward  the  coast  from  tlie  great  grain- 
growing  plateau  of  the  Hauran.  In  the  olden  days  when  Gennesaret 
was  in  its  glory  how  the  fame  of  its  beauty  and  richness  must  have 
been  carried  through  the  world  by  the  busy  tratTickers  along  its  high- 
road I 

At  the  northeast  corner  of  the  jjlain  arises  the  copious  fountain, 
^Ain  et  Tineh  (Spring  of  the  Fig).  Its  warm  (82°  F.)  brackish  water 
bursts  forth  at  the  base  of  a  precipitous  clifif;  and  after  collecting  in  a 
small  i)ool.  runs  along  a  small  lagoon  just  inside  the  shingle  for  one 
hundred  yards.  Pool  and  stream  swarm  with  fish  and  terrapins; 
while  masses  of  papyrus  and  other  reeds  tlourish  in  the  marshy  sur- 
roundings. There  are  no  remains  of  any  imjjortant  buildings  around, 
though  excavations  some  years  ago  revealed  foundations  of  what  was 
considered  to  be  a  Roman  bath  close  to  the  pool.  The  water  rises 
too  near  the  level  of  the  lake  for  it  ever  to  have  been  of  much  use  for 
irrigation.  A  little  to  the  north  of  this  spring  are  the  extensive  ruins 
of  Khan  Minia.  now  inhabited  during  certain  seasons  by  people  from 
Ramjh,  who  cultivate  the  plain  for  the  Tabighah  Hosi)ice. 

About  a  quarter  of  a  mile  due  south  of  the  kluni  are  the  scattered 
ruin-  known  as  Khurbet  Minia.  From  their  api)earance.  and  espe- 
cially from  the  characteristics  of  the  broken  |)Ottery  scattered  over  the 
surface,  the  site  m  ly  without  any  hesitation  be  ])ronounced  entirely 
.\rab.  Prol)ably  the  buildings  belong  to  the  same  period  as  the 
khan.  The  remains  are  raisefl  very  little  above  the  general  level  of 
the  plain,  so  that  the  occupation  of  the  site  cannot  have  l)een  ancient 
or  prolonged.-    On  a  careful  examination  of  the  site  with  Mr.  Macal- 


62 


STUDIES  IX  GALILEE 


ister'  of  the  Palestine  Exploration  Fund  we  could  not  find  a  single 
fragment  of  pottery  earlier  than  Arab  times,  while  the  Arab  pottery 
is  abundant. 

To  the  east  of  Khan  Minia  is  a  remarkable  hill,  el  ^Oreimeh. 
This  hill  constitutes  the  northern  limit  of  el  Ghuweir.  but  not  of  the 
district  Gennesaret,  as  I  hope  to  show.  Seaward,  this  hill  runs  out 
as  a  precipitous  rocky  promontory;  while  on  the  side  toward  the  plain 


j«|g3««W!B»3- 


The  Khurbet  'Oreim^h  appears  as  a  flattened  tell  on  the  summit.     cAin  et  Tineh  lies  below  the  cliff 
at  the  extreme  right  of  the  picture,  and  Khan  Minia  is  just  outside  the  picture  on  the  left. 


and  the  khan  the  lower  parts  present  a  series  of  low,  ragged,  limestone 
cliffs,  with  caves.  Indeed,  on  every  side,  the  ascent  of  the  hill  is  very 
steep.  It  is  just  one  of  those  sites  which,  all  over  the  land,  were  in 
primitive  times  fortified.  On  the  summit  of  this  hill  is  a  remarkable 
tell,  with  an  artificially  leveled  top.  This  mound  in  the  spring  is 
peculiarly  conspicuous  from  a  distance  on  account  of  its  deep  green 

>  See  Palestine  Exploration  Fund  Quarterly  Statement,  April,  1907. 


(;i:\\i;s.\ki:i- 


63 


color.     TIk-  liiL,'lu'>t  |)art  is  i(;S  ffcl  loni^  hy  <S0  fcc-t  wide,  hut  on  thf 
lower  ground  to  the  northeast  there  are  more  remains. 

The  wliole  of  the  tcU  is  artificial;  it  is  the  result  of  centuries  of 
occuj)ation  of  the  site,  .\lthough  the  f^round  has  been  plowed  up 
scas(Mi  after  season  for  lont.1  years,  fragments  of  jiollerv  e\er  come  to 
the  surface.     .\  careful  examination  of  these  re\eals  the  important 


''%''■■% 


h 


rM 


* 


di 


THK    ROCK  CCT  .AQCEDL'CT  AROCM)  MIK    IKl.I.  OF  c(  )I<KIMKI! 
Looking  tow.inl  Uu-  wi-si. 


fact  that  they  all  go  back  to  .\morite  or,  at  latest,  to  early  Hebrew 
times.  There  are  absolutely  no  fragments  belonging  to  the  Roman 
period.  The  early  |)Ottery  is  so  j)re])onderatingly  jjresent  that  it  i> 
jjossibie  for  Mr.  Macalistcr,  an  exj)ert  on  Palestine  jjottery,  to  say 
positively'  that  this  site  cannot  have  been  inhabited  in  New  Testament 
times,  nor  for  centuries  earlier.  In  the  tombs  near  at  hand  unbroken 
Amorite  i)Ottery  vessels,  which  we  have  seen,  have  also  been  found. 

'  Sec  Palestine  Exploration  Fund  Quarterly  Statement.  April,  igo;. 


64  STUDIES  IN  GALILEE 

The  spot  would  well  repay  excavating;  excavation  has  as  yet  revealed 
nothing  of  the  Amorite  period  in  Galilee. 

Next  to  this  Khurbet  el  ^Oreimeh,  the  most  noticeable  thing  on  the 
hill  is  the  well-known  aqueduct.     This  runs  around  the  semi-precipi- 
tous east  and  southeast  sides  of  the  hill  where  it  hangs  over  the  lake, 
some  fifty  feet  above  its  surface  level.     For  forty  feet  the  rock  cutting 
may  be  traced  continuously.     The  shape  of  the  passage  is  peculiar, 
being  bowed  out,  as  it  were,  in  the  middle,  as  is  shown  in  some  degree 
by  the  accompanying  illustration.     At  several  parts  the  outer  side 
of  the  aqueduct,  which  was  evidently  built  up  of  masonry,  has  now 
disappeared.     Extensive  surfaces  of  cement  exist  and  the  remains 
of  a  built,  cemented  channel,  the  continuation  of  the  rock-cut  aqueduct 
toward  Khan  Minia,  can  be  traced.     Just  before  the  rock-cut  passage 
turns  northwest  after  rounding  the  promontory,  there    re  two  breaks 
in  the  outer  wall  which  must  from  the  rounded  and  smooth  condition 
of  their  surfaces  long  have  been  traversed  by  running  water.     They 
appear  to  have  been  made  to  allow  the  contents  of  the  conduit  to 
descend  along  a  mill  shoot,  and  the  foundations  of  the  mills  which 
stood  here  still  may  be  seen  just  west  of  the  pool  of  ^Ain  et  Tineh. 
These  outlets  and  these  mills  could  hardly  have  been  in  use  until 
after  the  aqueduct  farther  on  toward  the  Khan  had  fallen  into  disuse. 
Near  the  eastern  end  of  the  rock  cutting  is  a  ruined  wely  named 
Sheikh  ^Ali  es  Sayyad.     Extensive  traces  of  broken  masonry  aque- 
duct are  visible  all  the  way  from  the  great  spring  of  Birket  Sheikh  '^Ali 
edh  Dhaher,  across  the  open  valley  Khallet  es  Semak,  and  then  in 
the  direction  of  the  rock  cutting,  which  show  beyond  doubt  that  this 
aqueduct  was  made  to  carry  the  water  of  this  fountain  to  Khan 
Minia.     As  the  natives  always  prefer  the  lake  water  for  drinking  to 
any  of  these  warm  brackish  springs,  the  probability  is  that  the  w^ater 
was  primarily  a  millstream  which  ran  to  the  Khan.     It  also  went  to 
the  settlement  now  represented  by  Khurbet  Minia,  for  I  believe  I  can 
still  trace  there  the  remains  of  mills.     It  is  quite  possible,  as  has  been 
suggested  by  M.  Renan,^  that  the  passage  was  originally  constructed 
not  for  irrigation  but  for  a  road  (as  it  is  today)  around  the  face  of  the 
cliffs,  and  only  later  reconstructed  and  cemented  to  make  an  aqueduct. 

I  Vie  de  Jesus,  p.  140;   a  view  also  indorsed  as  probable  by  the  engineers  of  the 
Palestine  Exploration  Fund. 


CKNNKSAKKT 


65 


As  such,  it  could  have  l)Lrn  of  use  only  at  the  time  of  the  occupation 
of  Khan  Minia  and  the  neighboring  town  now  represented  by  the 
ruins.  Khurbel  Minia  an  unknown  date  during  the  j)almy  days  of 
the  Arab  dominion. 

( )n  the  northeast  side  of  the  hill  just  described  is  a  small  plain 
known  as  Khallet  es  Semak,  the  delta  of  the  Wady  Jamii^.  This 
region  is  generally  known  as  el  Tabighah.  a  name  jjrobably  derived 


1- -i  iM  i-.   ..I  I.^l^..    IN    nmKET  SHEIKH  ^AI  1   EDH   l>HAHKk 
The  commi-nccmcnt  of  the  ruined  aqueduct  is  seen  in  the  foreground. 

from  Heptapegon  (seven  springs).  This  spot  is  notable  for  its  abun- 
dant warm  sjjrings  and  its  excellent  fishing.  During  February  and 
March  it  is  the  best  comer  in  all  the  lake  for  fish;  they  are  doubtless 
attracted  by  the  warm  water  there,  loaded  with  vegetable  debris. 
Those  who  maintain  that  there  must  have  been  two  towns  called  Beth- 
saida — and  they  are  a  diminishing  number — would  locate  here  Beth- 
saida  west  of  the  Jordan,  while  recognizing  in  et  Tell,  east  of  the 
Jordan,  the  site  of  Bethsaida  Julias.     Certainly  there  is  no  better 


66  STUDIES  IN  GALILEE 

spot  for  a  "house  of  fishing;"  but  there  are  no  remains  which  suggest 
that  any  considerable  town  was  there  (such  remains  as  are  now  to  be 
seen  at  this  site  belong  to  ruined  Arab  mills).  This  must  in  any  case 
have  been  the  fishing  suburb  of  Capernaum,  and  it  is  probable  some 
fishermen's  huts  were  here.  It  is  at  least  suggestive  that  the  two 
spots'  on  the  lake  where  in  the  spring  we  find  the  temporary  settle- 
ments of  fishermen  are  here  and  at  the  Bataihah,  that  is,  at  the  place 
where  (from  Matt.  14:34  and  Mark  6:53)  many  would  wish  to  locate 
a  Bethsaida  (house  of  fishing) ,  and  at  the  place  near  where  we  know 
Bethsaida  (Julias)  was  situated. 

There  is  no  more  charming  spot  than  this  in  the  whole  circuit  of 
the  lake.  Near  the  hill  el  '^Oreimeh  is  a  small  German  Roman  Catho- 
Hc  hospice,  embowered  in  trees,  among  which  magnificent  eucalypti^ 
and  willows  are  prominent.  On  the  shore  near  this  is  the  recently 
erected  wooden  pier  for  the  little  steamer  which  has  been  placed  on 
the  lake  to  take  passengers  to  and  from  the  railway  station  at  es 
Semakh,-'  near  the  outlet  of  the  Jordan, 

The  little  open  valley  is  full  of  cultivation  and  fertility,  thanks  to 
the  energetic  and  wise  administration  of  the  successive  directors  of 
the  hospice.  The  east  end  of  the  valley  contains  a  mass  of  ruined 
and  half-ruined  mills,  aqueducts,  and  running  water.  Here  there 
burst  forth  from  the  ground  no  less  than  five  springs.  One  of  them, 
called  in  the  Palestine  Ex  pi  oral  ion  Fund  Memoirs  '^Ain  Eyyub  (Job's 
Fountain),  is  the  largest  fountain  in  Galilee.  This  spring,  for  which 
I  could  find  no  name  locally,  arises  in  a  great  octagonal  tank  each 
side  of  which  is  26  feet.  As  it  stands,  the  building  is  the  w^ork  of  a 
great  Arab  chieftain  and  robber,  who  during  the  eighteenth  century 
dominated  the  whole  of  Galilee  from  Akka  to  the  Jordan.  After 
him  it  is  named  Birket  Sheikh  "^Ali  edh  Dhaher.  The  foundations 
are  older,  better  work,  probably  belonging  to  the  same  period  as  the 
aqueduct  and  Khan  Minia;  that  is,  to  the  days  wdien  the  Arabic 
power  was  in  its  zenith,  before  the  steady  decline  produced  by  the  J 

1  For  a  detailed  account  of  the  "  Fisheries  of  Galilee,"  see  chap.  ii. 

2  Australian  eucalypti  were  introduced  into  Palestine  some  quarter  of  a  century 
ago,  and  now  flourish  all  over  the  land  better  than  the  majority  of  the  native  trees. 

3  On  the  Damascus-Haifa  Railway,  opened  in  1906,  a  branch  of  the  great  Hejaz 
Railway. 


C.F.NNKSARKr  67 

Mongol  Turks.  The  birkct,  as  il  stands,  is  not  hi.-^li  enough,  Ijy  several 
feet,  to  lift  the  water  to  the  level  of  the  aciueducl;  and  today  it  is  so 
much  out  of  re|)air  that  it  does  not  even  raise  water  to  the  level  for 
which  it  was  reconstructed. 

TIk'  present  surface  of  the  water  is  over  sixteen  feel  helow  the  top 
of  the  tank.  Xear  the  toj)  there  are  on  the  southern  side  two  rounded 
openings  cut  in  stone,  through  which  water  entered  an  acjueduct 
raised  on  arches.  Hut  lor  long  years  it  has  not  attained  this  level. 
The  aqueduct  is  now  ruined  and  the  mill  has  disapj^eared.  The 
stream  i)Ours  out  under  a  platform  inside  the  tank.  To  this  j>latform 
it  is  now  |)ossible  to  descend  by  a  stone  staircase  and  gaze  into  the 
clear  waters  of  the  i)Ool.  The  water  is  86.5°  F..  and  the  ])Ool— in 
places  ten  feet  deep — is  a  veritable  aquarium  of  lish,  purple  and 
yellow  crabs,  crayfish,  and  mud-turtles.  The  water  pouring  out  of 
the  side  of  this  pool  still  works  a  mill,  and  as  it  ramifies  over  the  ground 
supports  a  mass  of  tangled  rank  \egetation.  .\s  it  cools  it  deposits 
quantities  of  brownish,  stalagniitic  limestone  which  coats  the  sides  of 
both  aqueduct  and  mill. 

Two  other  springs  have  been  inclosed:  One.  Hammam  P2yyub 
(Job's  bath),  rises  within  a  ruined  tower  a  few  yards  to  the  east  of  the 
birket  just  described;  its  water  is  conducted  by  a  small  aqueduct  to 
water  the  ])roperty  of  the  hosi)ice.  The  other,  Tannur  Eyyub' 
(Job's  oven),  lies  nearer  the  shore  a  little  farther  east.  Here  the  water 
rises  in  a  small  circular  i>ool.  j>erhaj)s  four  feet  deep,  within  a  ruined 
tower.  Jewish  pilgrims  are  accustomed  to  take  a  bath  in  this  i>ool 
on  their  way  to  and  from  Jerusalem.  Two  other  si)rings  also  arise 
amid  the  vegetation  around.  The  whole  of  this  Tabighah  district 
is  one  of  ])resent  fertility  and  greater  latent  ])Ossibilitics.  It  contains 
the  largest  si)ring  in  Galilee,  one-half  CMjual  in  volume  to  the  well- 
known  source  of  the  Jordan  at  Hanias,  as  well  as  four  or  five  more. 
The  bay  is  the  fmest  fishing  ground  on  the  lake.  The  district  is 
sei)arated  from  the  plain  of  el  Ghuweir  by  a  hill  which  in  the  days  of 
Josephus  must  have  been  under  cultivation,  perhaps  bearing  those 
\ery  \ineyard>,  orchards,  and  groves  of  which  he  speaks.  X'iewed 
from  a  little  way  out  on  the  lake,  the  two  ])lains  aj)j)ear  as  one.    .\nd  I 

■  In  addition  to  Job's  spring,  Job's  bath,  Jobs  oven,  we  have  on  the  hill  nearby 
Mugharct  Eyyub  (Job's  cave),  where  according  to  tradition  he  lived. 


68  STUDIES  IN  GALILEE 

am  quite  of  the  opinion,  as  is  suggested  by  Professor  Stevens,'  that  in 
ancient  times  Gennesaret  must  necessarily  have  included  the  whole. 
The  measurements  given  by  Josephus  will  easily  allow  of  this,  while 
the  extreme  measurements  of  el  Ghuweir  are  only  about  two  and  three- 
fourths  miles  long  by  one  and  one-half  miles  broad.  The  region  is 
very  definitely  bounded  to  the  south  by  the  close  approach  of  the  hills 
to  the  sea  near  Mejdel,  while  to  the  east  beyond  the  Tabighah  springs 
the  hills  again  approach  the  shore  and  leave  no  level  plain  of  any  size. 
The  description  of  the  products  of  this  region  necessitates  the  inclu- 
sion in  it  of  not  only  the  well-watered  valleys  opening  into  it,  but  also 
a  considerable  margin  of  fertile  and  at  that  time  terraced  hillside 
around.  In  the  whole  of  this  district,  with  the  exception  of  Mejdel, 
usually  supposed  to  be  Magdala,  there  are  no  ruins  marking  the  sites 
of  any  towns  or  villages  which  could  have  flourished  there  in  New 
Testament  times.  Such  sites  do  not  vanish  into  thin  air;  even  if 
no  walls  remain,  pottery  fragments  are  always  to  be  found.  On  the 
top  of  the  hill  west  of  Tabighah  we  find  Khurbet  el  =Oreimeh,  marking 
the  site  of  a  town  which  flourished  and  perished  long  before  those 
days;  while  at  Khurbet  Minia  we  have  considerable  remains  of  an 
Arab  occupation  some  centuries  afterward.  The  whole  area  would 
appear,  as  we  gather  from  Josephus,  to  have  been  devoted  to  a  great 
garden  and  orchard;  with  of  course  the  scattered  huts  and  shanties 
of  those  whose  duty  it  was  to  watch  over  the  produce. 

I  Loc.  cit. 


CAPERNAUM 


eii.\i'ri;R  i\ 

(•AI'KRNAIM 

Capernaum,  tlu'  home  of  Jesus  during  ])ractically  the  whole  of 
hi.  Galilean  |iul)lic  ministry  (Matt.  9:1),  the  native  place  of  at  least 
three  of  liis  apostles,  and  the  scene  of  many  of  his  most  important 
miracles  antl  sermons,  has,  like  the  other  once  highly  favored  cities, 
Belhsaida  and  Chorazin,  long  since  ceased  to  be  a  city  or  even  a 
village.  Today  the  Christian  traveler  who  intelligently  studies  the 
question  has  usually  to  be  content  with  a  "perha])s,"  or  a  sincere 
wish  that  Capernaum  may  have  been  where  he  would  like  to  think  it 
stood.  On  few  questions  in  Palestinian  topography  have  English 
and  American  authorities  been  more  evenly  divided. 

It  is  certain  that  Capernaum  must  have  been  an  imjjortant  j)lace; 
in  Matt.  9:1  it  is  called  a  city  (7r6Xi<;) ;  we  read  of  a  centurion  resident 
there  (Matt.  8:5),  and  we  may  conclude  there  was  a  garrison;  here 
custom  dues  were  collected  on  goods  brought  from  the  east  over 
the  Jordan  or  over  the  great  highroad  from  Damascus  and  the  north 
to  Egyjjt  (Matt.  9:9;  Mark.  2:14;  Luke  5:27).  In  position  we 
know  it  was  on  the  Lake  of  Galilee,  not  far  from  the  region  called 
Ciennesaret  (Matt.  14:34;  John  6:17).  It  would  aj^jjear  to  have 
been  a  ver)'  important  Jewish  religious  center,  for  it  not  only  contained 
a  synagogue  of  peculiar  imjjortance,  as  we  shall  see  later  on,  but 
was  frequented  by  considerable  numbers  of  ultra-orthodo.x  Phari- 
sees and  scribes  who  set  themselves  actively  and  fanatically  to  oi)posc 
the  new  teaching  of  the  Master  (Matt.  9:3;  Mark  2:6,  16,  24,  etc.). 
It  was  described  by  Jesus  as  "exalted  unto  heaven"  (Matt.  11:23; 
Luke  10: 15).  This  is  generally  interj)retcd  to  refer  to  the  oi)j)ortuni- 
ties  and  privileges  the  city  enjoyed  through  Jesus'  residence  there; 
it  is,  however,  j)Ossible  that  it  may  refer  to  some  more  material  great- 
ness as  well. 

Although  the  ri\al  suggested  sites  for  Cai)ernaum  are  all  within  a 
ver\'  small  geographical  area,  yet  there  is  no  <[uestion  that  the  tlnal 
and  decisive  settling  of  this  tojjographical  fjucstion  would  be  a  sub- 

71 


STUDIES  IX  galilep: 


CM'I.kX  AIM  7.^ 

stunlial  gain  bccaux.-  it  praclically  uouM  dt'liTiniiU'  llu-  jxisilions  of 
other  surrounding  cities.  As  in  a  |)revious  chapter  I  Ikinc  incidentally 
m.^ntioned  the  other  suggested  sites'  for  Cai)ernaum,  I  propose  here 
before  entering  into  the  (|uestion  of  pros  and  cons  to  describe  the 
remaining  claimant.  Tell  Hum.  It  may  be  as  well  to  state  that, 
though  for  convenience  1  am  here  using  this  form  of  the  name  which 
has  become  familiar  to  us  through  the  publications  of  the  Palestine 
Ex])loration  Fund,  I  have  great  doubts  as  to  its  correctness.  It  is 
much  more  likely  that  the  word  should  be  transliterated  "Telhum." 
The  site  is  not  a  liil  at  all— although  it  is  ])robable  that  this  idea  may 
have  intluenced  the  ado])tion  of  the  j)resent  form  of  the  name.  Such 
a  mass  of  ruins  lying  on  level  ground  is  named  in  .Vrabic  a  khurhct; 
a  tell  is  always  an  elevation,  often,  but  not  necessarily,  crowned  with 
ruins.  The  word  Telhum  is  probably  a  corruption  of  Tankhum, 
as  wc  know  from  rabbinical^  writings  that  a  village  Cepher  Tankhum 
once  stood  hereabouts. 

Eastward  of  the  s])rings  of  Tabighah  the  hills  aj)proach  the  shore; 
and  although  the  latter,  with  its  little  bays,  ])resents  a  certain  asjK-ct 
of  attractiveness,  not  so  much  can  be  said  of  the  hills  to  the  north 
with  their  black  volcanic  bowlders  scattered  around.  It  is  only  in 
the  spring  when  the  long  luxuriant  grass  and  weeds  make  a  carpet 
of  verdure,  dotted  over  with  myriad  brilliant  flowers,  that  this  jiart  of 
the  coast  can  be  called  beautiful.  .\  (piiet  ride  or  (piick  walk  of  twenty 
live  minutes'  brings  us  to  the  outskirts  of  the  Tell  Hum  proj)erty. 
Here  for  quite  half  a  mile  along  the  shore  are  extensive  ruins  of  houses 
of  many  ])eriods.  Among  the  shapeless  heaps  of  black  stones  are 
the  mi-^erable  hovels  of  the  Semakeyeh  Arabs  who  make  this  their 
head(iuarters.  .\  few  buildings  of  the  .Arab  j)eri()d  rise  as  islands 
amid  the  general  desolation:  the  ground,  under  the  surface,  is  every- 
where full  of  old  house  foundations,  shaped  blocks  of  stone,  and 
broken  conduits:  j)Ottery — mixed  Arab  and  Roman — lies  scattered 
on  every   hand. 

Nowhere  on  the  whole  northern  shore  of  the  lake  are  there  ruins 

'  Khan  Minia,  Khurlit-t  Minia,  c-1  ^f  )rcimch. 

»  Midrash,  Shirhash  Shirim,  III,  iS;    Tal.  Ji-r.  Truinotli.  XI.  7,  etc. 
3  From  the  springs  of  Tabighah  to  the  Tfll  Hum  synagogue  is  one  and  three- 
fourths  miles  in  a  straight  line  as  measured  on  the  map. 


74  STUDIES  IN  GALILEE 

of  this  extent.  Those  unaccustomed  to  Palestinian  ruins  may  belittle 
these  remains,  but  compared  with  other  sites  they  are  very  consider- 
able. Among  the  heaps  of  black  volcanic  stones,  once  quarried  from 
the  hills  around,  a  few  scattered  fragments  of  limestone — fragments 
of  columns  or  capitals — show  that  some  grander  building  once  stood 
in  this  neighborhod.  If  we  now  enter  the  walled-in  property  of 
the  Franciscan  Brethren  we  shall  see  the  source  of  these  pieces.  Here 
lie  uncovered  the  extensive  ruins  of  a  magnificent  synagogue,  the 
existence  of  which  has  until  quite  recently  been  known  only  by  a  few 
fragments.  During  recent  years  a  number  of  these  Jewish  synagogues 
have  been  excavated  by  Herr  Kohl,  w'orking  under  the  Deutsche 
Orient-Gesell:chaft.  At  Kerazeh,  on  the  adjacent  hills  to  the  north, 
at  Irbid  in  the  Wady  Hamam,  at  Kefr  Berim,  el  Jish,  Meron,  Nebra- 
tain,  and  at  Umm  el  ^Amed — indeed,  in  all  places  where  indubitable 
evidence  of  ancient  synagogues  had  previously  been  found — these 
buildings  have  been  excavated,  measured,  and  planned. 

But  it  may  be  said  without  fear  of  contradiction  that  for  size  and 
beauty  of  ornament  this  Tell  Hum  synagogue  stands  supreme;  it 
would  even  appear  to  have  been  the  model  after  which  all  the  others 
have  been  built.  No  effort  was  spared  to  make  it  great  and  fine. 
For  whereas  with  the  other  synagogues  the  stone  of  the  locality  was 
used  (e.  g.,  at  Kerazeh,  the  black  volcanic  rock),  here  at  much  labor 
and  expense  a  beautiful  white  limestone  (a  native  marble)  was  shipped 
from  a  distance  block  by  block  for  the  construction  of  every  part, 
even  the  flooring,  of  the  building.  The  carving,  often  in  high  relief, 
is  for  local  work  most  effective.  The  trailing  vine,  the  stately  palm 
with  its  clusters  of  dates,  the  acanthus,  the  rose,  and  many  other 
beautiful  designs  occur.  Perhaps  the  most  interesting  are  the  seven- 
branched  candlestick  and  the  animal  forms;  among  the  latter  are 
seen  lions  or  lambs  (it  is  not  quite  clear  which),  and  birds,  two  eagles 
being  especially  noticeable.  It  must  be  remembered  that,  though  all 
that  lies  on  the  area  of  the  ruined  synagogue  has  been  uncovered,  it 
is  only  a  fraction  of  the  ornamental  work  that  was  once  here — mere 
specimens  of  the  general  principles  of  the  design.  Quantities  of 
stone  must  have  been  removed,  some  perhaps  to  adorn  other  build- 
ings, some  to  other  parts  of  the  town  where  they  still  lie  beneath  the 
ru'ns;   but  it  is  to  be  feared  that  the  bulk  has  found  its  way  into  the 


(\ri;K\  AIM 


75 


voracious  linu'  kiln.  This  ma>s  of  lirm>tonc  blocks  must  for  centuries 
have  Ix'cn  a  veritaMc  mine  of  trca>urc  to  the  Aral)  builder,  as  there 
is  no  other  such  stone  to  be  found  for  miles  around.  This  is  the 
fate  which  for  many  centuries  has  overwhelmed  ancient  inscriptions 
and  carved  stones  all  over  the  land.  The  Arab  has  not  the  slif^htest 
aesthetic  feeling  about  anything,'  of  this  sort. 


Fdved  Outer  Coa/rt . 


\\     ] 

fuAwdm^  whole  length,  cj     .  ; 


Stf^ndgogue. 


PLAM  OF  synaqoque:; 


.^T 


TELL  HUM 


rnoM  TH£  fLAi  or  Hf  R>?    kohi 
MiTT/etuvctWr..  rfirrewt/v  o«ntwT- 

C,£S[LLiCH».rT  . 


i\ 


The  (ground- j)lan  of  the  syna<^'o^ue  is  shown  in  the  accompany in.L,' 
illustration  from  the  sketch-plan  of  Herr  Kohl.  It  faced  the  lake; 
and  from  its  terraces,  doors,  and  roof  a  most  ex(|uisite  view  of  the 
whole  lake  and  shore  must  have  been  visible.  In  front  there  was  a 
kind  of  raised  terrace  a])proached  from  the  east  and  west  by  steps. 
The  entrance  from  this  was  by  a  highly  ornamental  triple  gateway; 
the  center  portal  was  over  si,\  feet  wide  and  those  at  the  sides  four  and 


76  STUDIES  IX  GALILEE 

one-half  feet.  There  was  also  a  lateral  entrance  on  the  east.  The 
inside  measurements  are  78  feet  long  by  59  feet  wide;  there  was  a 
central  court  surrounded  on  three  sides  by  columns  with  a  beautiful 
and  elaborate  frieze,  supporting  an  upper  gallery.  This  gallery  and 
probably  the  roof  were  sustained  by  wooden  beams.  To  the  east 
of  this  building  a  paved  open  courtyard  of  the  length  and  nearly  the 
breadth  of  the  synagogue  itself  has  been  uncovered.  It  is  now 
structurally  part  of  the  synagogue,  as  is  shown  both  by  the  arrange- 
ments of  the  steps  and  terrace  in  front  and  also  by  the  character  of 
the  pavement  and  surrounding  wall,  but  it  is  also  clearly  an  older 
construction  incorporated  into  the  present  building.  It  is  possible 
that  it  was  a  kind  of  Court  of  the  Women.  Jewesses  in  the  Orient 
are  not  allowed  in  the  synagogues  today.  They  may  only  view  the 
ceremonies,  either  from  a  gallery  (with  which  a  few  synagogues  are 
provided) ,  or  from  just  such  a  court  as  this.  The  open  space  would,  of 
course,  serve  also  as  a  place  for  assembly  and  discussion  between 
services. 

The  date  of  this  work  is  unknown.  Most  of  these  ruined  syna- 
gogues have  been  tentatively  assigned  to  the  second  or  third  century 
after  Christ,  but  in  none  of  them  have  any  dates  been  found  and  the 
c^uestion  is  quite  uncertain.  I  believe  I  am  correct  in  saying  that 
there  is  nothing  in  the  architecture  or  the  ornamentation  which  makes 
it  impossible  that  it  may  have  been  standing  in  the  day  of  our  Lord. 
And  even  if  the  greater  part  of  the  present  structure  belongs  to  a  later 
time,  it  is  likely  that  the  site  and  some  at  least  of  the  masonry  go  back 
to  the  time  of  Jesus.  For  there  are  clear  indications  that  an  earlier 
building  of  great  architectural  pretensions  stood  here.  The  owners  of 
the  property  are  anxious  to  maintain  that  the  later  synagogue  is  that 
of  the  New  Testament.  This  is  improbable.  The  utter  destruction 
whi  h  has  overtaken  these  synagogues  is  clearly  due  to  the  repeated 
severe  earthquakes  which  have  visited  these  regions.' 

We  have  therefore  at  this  site  of  Tell  Hum  an  extensive  ruin — the 
largest  on  the  northern  shore.  Besides  Arab  remains,  we  everywhere 
see  evidences  of  extensive  habitation  in  Roman  times,  while  in  the 
neighboring  wady  is  a  large  Roman  necropolis.  In  the  midst  of  the 
town  is  the  ruin  of  a  marble  synagogue — by  far  the  finest  of  which 

'  For  a  fuller  description  and  discussion,  see  chap.  vi. 


CAPKRWrM  77 

\vc  liavc  anv  ur\i\in^  iratxs  now  in  ("lalilcc.  Now  it  is  a  suggestive 
lliini^  ihat  most  of  tin-  inciili-nts  at  t'apcrnaum  arc  associated  with  a 
syna<4oi;uc.  In  Luke  7:1-10,  when  tlic  centurion  in  this  city  came 
to  plead  with  Jesus  about  his  sick  servant,  the  people  "besought  him 
carnestlv,  saving.  He  is  worthy  that  thou  shouldst  do  this  for  him; 
for  he  loveth  our  nation,  and  himself  built  us  our  synagogue"  (kuI 
Ti)v  crvvayoyyijv  avrb'i  uiKoBofxi^aev  rjfilv).  In  Alark  1:21  we  read, 
"They  went  into  Capernaum;  and  straightway  on  the  sabbath  day 
he  entered  into  the  synagogue  and  taught."  Here  in  the  same  syna- 
gogue he  healed  the  man  with  the  unclean  sjjirit  (Mark  1:21-27; 
Luke  4:33-35).  In  this  synagogue  the  man  with  the  withered  hand 
received  health  on  the  sabbath  day  iMalt.  12:10-13;  Mark  3:1-5; 
Luke  6:6-11).  We  may  notice,  too,  that  the  expression  used  (Mark 
1:21;  Luke  6:6)  is  the  synagogue  (ek  rr^v  avvayQ)j7]v}.  Jairus  of 
Cajjernaum  was  a  ruler  of  the  synagogue  (apxc^v  t^<?  a-waycoyri^, 
Luke  8:41).  Anil  it  was  in  the  synagogue  of  Capernaum  that  Jesus 
gave  his  discourse  on  the  bread  of  life  (John  6:26-59). 

Although  it  is  quite  possible  there  may  have  been  several  syna- 
gogues in  Capernaum,  it  is  evident  that  there  was  one  of  pre-eminent 
importance  and  fame,  and  it  was  this  that  our  Lord  selected  as  the 
scene  of  his  teaching  in  Galilee,  as  in  Jerusalem  he  chose  the  temple 
(>Lark  14:49;  Luke  22 :  53).  The  references  to  this  synagogue  appear 
the  more  striking  when  we  notice  that,  with  the  exception  of  one.  or 
possibly  two,  visits  to  the  synagogue  in  Nazareth  (Matt.  13:54; 
Mark  6:2;  Luke  :i6-3:)),  there  are  no  references  in  the  ospels  to 
any  other  individual  synagogues.  Is  it  not  conceivable  that  this 
synagogue  may  hav.-  been  actually  the  most  imj)  rtant  in  all  (ialilee  ? 
The  remains— even  the  arlier  ones— which  we  find  today  supjiort 
such  a  theory,  but  in  ;  ddition  we  fmd  in  the  gosj^el  the  incidental 
mention  that  a  Roman  oOkial — a  centurion— had  been  concerned 
in  building  it.  It  is  improbable  that  this  was  an  act  of  |)ri  ate  gen- 
erosity; mor  likely  he  was  acting  on  behalf  of  the  Tetrarch  Herod 
Antipa>.  who  may  have  wished  to  give  the  ews  on  the  lakeside  a 
temi)le  worthy  to  rank  with  the  Im  gentile  j)ag  n  buildings  which 
studded  the  neighborhood  of  the  lake  -  for  e.\ami)le.  at  Tiberias. 
Hippos,  Julias,  and  Gadara. 

The  exist.nce  of  such  a  Jewi.-h  center  may  h  .ve  actually  decided 


7« 


STUDIES  IN  GALILEE 


(•AI'IRNACM  79 

til  >k'|)  whi  h  Ji'sus  took  ulu-n  lu-  iiiowmI  from  \a/arvlli  and  made 
Capernaum  the  center  of  his  Gahlean  ministry.  These  are  conjectures 
im|)ossihle  at  pre  ent  to  prove,  but  the  recent  chscoverics  at  Tell 
Hum  make  it  very  dilTicult  to  believe  that  this  was  not  the  site  of 
Capernaum.  For.  to  lake  one  (pieslion  alone,  if  Tell  Hum  was  not 
the  city  of  Capernaum,  what  city  was  it  ?  It  cannot  be  doubted  that 
Tell  Hum  was  in  Jesus'  day  an  imj)ortant  city,  and  if  we  are  to  trust 
the  xerdict  of  archaeology  it  was  by  far  the  most  imj)ortant  Jewish 
place  in  the  district.  We  must  always  remember  that  in  the  time  of 
Christ  cities  were  on  a  ery  different  scale  from  those  of  later  times — 
they  were  very  small  indeed  according  to  our  modern  ideas.  The 
ruins  all  over  the  Holy  Land  tell  the  same  tale.  Comj)aring  Tell 
Hum  with  these  remains,  the  city  once  there  must  have  been  a  rela- 
tively large  one. 

I  have  so  f  r  discussed  the  (piestion  rather  on  topographical  and 
ar  haeological  than  on  historical  grounds.  As  the  difficulties  to  the 
acceptance  of  the  Tell  Hum  site  for  Capernaum  have  been  chiefly 
of  the  latter  kind.  I  must  briefly  review  the  historical  evidence. 

First,  we  ha\"e  the  testimony  of  Josej)hus.  Josephus  (I'/A/.  $72) 
narrates  that  he  had  been  fighting  near  Bethsaida  Julias,  east  of  the 
Jordan,  but  had  the  misfortune  to  fall  into  a  quagmire  (in  the  marshy 
Bataihah);  he  was  thrown  to  the  ground,  bruised  his  wrist,  and 
"was  carried  into  a  village  named  Capharnome,"  whence  he  was 
next  day  removed  by  boat  to  Taricheae.  Caj)harnome  is  without 
doubt  the  Capernaum  of  the  gospels.  Now  there  can  be  no  cpiestion. 
whether  Josephus  was  carried  by  land  or  sea  (and  the  former  woulfl 
appear  probable),  that  the  flrst  place  of  im])ortance  he  would  have 
had  to  pass  was  some  town  standing  where  the  ruins  of  Tell  Hum 
now  stand;  and  there,  if  anywhere  on  the  north  shore  (west  of  the 
Jordan),  he  would  ha\e  been  likely  to  obtain  a  Jewish  jihysician.  The 
only  reasonable  solution  is  that  Caj)harnome  was  at  this  site. 

The  second  reference  is  jmrt  of  the  {passage  which  was  largely 
(juoted  in  the  previous  article  on  Gennesaret.  After  his  glowing 
description  of  that  region,  Josephus  goes  on:  "  For  besides  the  good 
temperature  of  the  air,  it  is  also  watered  from  a  most  fertile  fountain. 
The  j)eople  call  it  Capharnaum.  Some  have  thought  it  to  be  a  vein 
of  the  Nile  because  it  jtroduces  the  coracin  tlsh  as  well  as  that  lake 


8o 


STUDIES  IX  GALILEE 


CA!M:RN  AIM  8l 

(Iocs  which  is  near  Alexandria."  Now  with  rci^'anl  to  this  fountain, 
if  anyone  were  totlay  without  bias  to  select  one  for  special  mention, 
there  is  one,  and  only  one,  which  from  its  remarkable  size  and  copious- 
ness could  for  a  moment  be  considered.  This  fountain  is  that  rising 
in  the  great  octagonal  basin  called  Birket  Sheikh  .Mi  edh  Dhahcr, 
described  in  the  Palcsline  Exploration  Fund  Memoirs  as  <=.\in  p:yyub. 
Such  a  gush  of  water— the  largest  course  in  Galilee,  might  well  be 
ascribed  by  the  ignorant  to  the  Xile.'  Today  travelers  visiting  the 
spot  do  not  readily  ap;)reciate  the  enormous  mass  of  water  that  ])ours 
forth  because  it  rises  so  quietly  in  the  old  birkeh.  Under  more  natural 
conditions  the  sight  would  be  far  more  impressive.  The  two  springs 
which  have  been  suggested  as  alternative  rivals  are  comparatively 
of  such  insignificance  that  their  claims  cannot  seriously  be  maintained. 
Xo  one  spring  can  be  said  now  to  water  the  whole  land  of  Gennesaret, 
nor  ever  did.  But  I  have  in  the  preceding  chapter  given  reasons 
which  seem  to  me  convincing  for  believing  that  the  comer  where  this 
spring  gushes  forth  is  topograj^hically  a  part — and  a  very  imj)ortant 
part — of  that  district. 

Hitherto,  however,  objection  has  been  taken  because  the  coracinus 
or  catfish  has  not  been  found  there.  This  objection  is  quite  unsound, 
because  the  catfish  abounds  in  the  lake  all  along  these  shores  and 
it  finds  its  way  up  all  the  streams.  Canon  Tristram  found  it  in  the 
round  basin  of  ^.\in  el  Madauwerah,  but  it  is  found  also  in  ^.\in  et 
Tineh.  \\.  ^\m  P>yub,  inasmuch  as  a  wall  twenty-six  feet  high 
was  in  .\rab  times  built  around  the  sj^ring,  it  is  not  wonderful  that  this 
fish  is  no  longer  found  there.  But  we  have  not  the  slightest  evidence 
that  the  fountain  was  so  surrounded  in  the  time  of  Jose])hus.  or  that 
there  was  then  anything  to  prevent  this  fish  from  finding  its  way  to 
these  waters.  For  this  reason  the  absence  there  of  the  catfish  cannot 
be  allowed  to  count  as  important  evidence.' 

'  Such  suggestions,  though  so  absurd  to  us,  are  still  made  today  by  the  Arabs. 
When  at  'Ain  Feshkhah,  by  the  shores  of  the  Dead  Sea,  I  was  solemnly  assured  that  the 
water  of  that  spring  came  from  the  X'irgin's  Fountain  in  the  Kedron  Valley,  Jerusalem 
— because  both  waters  were  equally  brackish !     Sec  also  Q.  S.  of  the  P.  E.  F.,  1909,  p  206. 

'  It  is  an  illustration  of  how  carefully  one  must  accept  evidence  that,  whereas  I 
was  assured  by  one  long  resident  in  the  district  that  he  hatl  often  seen  the  coracin  fish 
in  this  birkeh,  on  more  careful  cross-questioning  I  found  that  he  had  been  quite  mis- 
informed as  to  the  nature  of  the  coracinus.  When  I  told  him  it  was  the  well-known 
catfish  (Arabic,  harbii')  he  at  once  sairl  he  had  never  seen  it  in  the  birkeh.  Sot,  so 
far  as  I  can  make  out,  has  any  other  person  seen  it  there  in  recent  years. 


82  STUDIES  IX  GALILEE 

It  will  a{)pcar  to  some  a  greater  difficulty  that  Capernaum  could 
give  its  name  to  a  spring  nearly  two  miles  away.  Xow  it  is  evident 
from  the  word  itself  that  Capernaum  was  originally  the  name  of  a 
Capher  (Arabic,  kejer)  village  and  not  of  a  spring.  The  spring 
must  then  have  been  called  after  the  town  to  which  it  belonged. 
There  is  no  reason  for  supposing  there  was  ever  an  acjueduct  from 
this  spring  to  Tell  Hum.  But  why  should  there  have  been  ?  The 
lakeside  people  always  prefer  the  lake  water;  they  cannot  be  induced 
to  drink  anything  else.  But  on  the  other  hand  the  possession  of  this 
spring — one  might  say  these  springs,  for  all  the  Tabighah  springs 
must  have  gone  together — would  be  important  for  any  town.  With 
this  supply  gardens  could  be  irrigated,  and  also  manufactories,  e.  g., 
tanneries,  carried  on.  Such  a  fountain  would  naturally  be  known 
as  the  Caphernaum  fountain.  It  is  perhaps  worth  noticing  that 
today  the  property  of  Tell  Hum,  that  was  brought  from  the  Semake- 
yeh  Arabs  of  Tell  Hilm,  comes  close  up  to  this  fountain;  the  adjoining 
spring,  Tannur  Eyyub.  is  actually  on  the  boundary  line  between  the 
Tell  Hum  and  the  Tabighah  properties. 

The  references  in  Matt.  14:34;  Mark  6:53;  John  6:17-21, 
although  they  show  that  Capernaum  lay  near  the  region  of  Gennesaret 
and  not  far  from  Bethsaida,  are  perfectly  consistent  with  the  Tell 
Hum  site.  Jesus  and  his  disciples,  after  the  incident  of  the  walking 
on  the  water,  w'ere  driven  beyond  their  desination  (John  6:17)  and 
landed  at  the  ''land  of  Gennesaret" — probably  at  Tabighah —  and 
made  their  way  to  their  home  at  Capernaum  on  foot.  The  absence 
of  a  good  harbor  at  Tell  Hiim  has  been  urged  as  an  objection,  but 
if  the  chief  fishing-grounds  of  the  city  were  at  Tabighah — the  fishing- 
center  today — the  boats  may  ordinarily  have  been  kept  there. 

The  only  rival  site  to  Tell  Hum  is  the  ruin  Khurbet  Minia.  I 
have  in  the  previous  chapter  explained  that  this  is  a  site  which  has  no 
claim  at  all  to  antiquity.  All  the  remains,  masonry  and  pottery, 
point  to  an  extensive  occupation  during  the  Arab  period,  and  we 
know  from  histor}'  that  in  this  period  this  site  was  occupied.  In 
the  eleventh  century  a  place  called  Munyat  Hisham  was  there,  and 
in  1430  a  village  called  el  Munja,  important  enough  to  give  its  name 
to  the  whole  lake.'     Other  people  have  proposed  Khurbet  el  ^Oreimeh 

'  G.  A.  Smith,  art.  "Capernaum,"  in  the  Encyclopedia  Biblica. 


CAI'KKWrM  83 

as  the  site  of  Capernaum.  Hut  this  site,  as  I  have  mentioned,  was 
not  occupied  in  Jesus'  (hiy.  nor  had  it  l)een  for  many  centuries  previous 
to  that  time.  It  is  a  very  ancient  site.  1  wouUl  su«^'gest  that  it  may 
have  been  the  location  of  the  "fenced  city"  of  Naphthah,  called 
Horenr."  in  anv  case  it  is  a  (juite  imj)Ossible  site  for  any  Xew  Tes- 
tament place. 

The  views  of  tradition  regarding  the  site  of  (\ij)ernaum  must  be 
reviewed  Ixxause  the  great  Dr.  Rohin>()n  makes  the  astonishing 
statement'  that  "a  train  of  historical  notices,  extending  down  to  the 
seventeenth  century,  seems  to  fix  continuously  the  site  of  Cajjernaum 
at  Khan  Minyeh."  Professor  George  Adam  Smith,  on  the  other 
hand,  himself  a  supporter  of  the  Khan  Minia  site,  in  both  his  His- 
torical Geography  oj  the  Holy  Laud  and  in  the  Encyclopedia  Biblica, 
acknowledges  that  "a  strong  Christian  tradition  from  the  sixth 
century  onward  has  fixed  it  (i.  e.,  Capernaum)  at  Tell  Hum."^  But 
he  also  states  that  both  Jerome  (fourth  century)  and  Theodosius 
(sixth  centurv-)  support  this  site.-»  The  first  authority  that  Robinson 
or  G.  A.  Smith  quotes  in  favor  of  the  Khan  Minia  site  is  Arculfus, 
a  French  bishop  who  visited  Palestine  about  670  a.  d.  Now  in  the 
first  place  this  good  pilgrim  did  not  himself  visit  Capernaum  at  all — 
he  only  viewed  it  from  an  unknown  hill  in  the  neighborhood.  The 
two  passages  from  his  writings  which  Robinson  quotes  as  supporting 
the  Khan  Minia  site  are:  "Those  coming  from  Jerusalem  who  desire 
to  go  to  Cai)crnaum  proceed  by  the  direct  way  through  Tiberias; 
thence  along  the  Lake  of  Galilee,  and  through  the  place  of  benediction-^ 
before  described;  from  whence,  along  the  margin  of  the  same  lake, 
by  not  a  long  circuit,  they  arrive  at  Capernaum  upon  the  shore." 
This  "place  of  benediction"  he  describes  in  another  part  as  "the  level 

■  The  change  from  Z^H  into  a-^J^-C  is  not  a  great  one. 
»  Biblical  Researches,  Vol.  Ill,  pp.  354  f- 

3  Historical  Geography,  p.  456.  footnote. 

4  Encyclopedia  Biblica,  \o\.  I,  col.  (>()•]. 

5  There  arc  in  this  neighborhoorl  two  sites  now  pointed  out  whirh  are  apparently 
confused  (or  were  once  blended  into  one):  one  is  the  scene  of  the  Beatitudes  which  is 
traditionally  (at  any  rate  one  site  of  it)  on  the  hillside  to  the  north  of  the  great  Tabighah 
spring.  The  site  is  now  marked  by  a  tree  called  Sajarat  el  Mubarakeh.  high  up  on 
a  hill  on  the  head  of  the  Wady  et  Tabigba'-  '!">'<•  other  site  is  that  of  the  feeding  of 
the  five  thousand  as  described. 


84  STUDIES  IX  GALILEE 

and  grassy  plot  where  the  Savior  fed  the  five  thousand;  where  was 
also  a  fonticulus  (small  fountain);  the  place  was  on  this  [i.e.,  the 
west]  side  of  the  lake  looking  toward  the  city  of  Tiberias  which  was 
on  the  south." 

Robinson  does  not  venture  to  decide  what  this  place  was.  He 
says:  "The  term  fonticulus  could  hardly  be  applied  in  strictness 
either  to  ^Ain  el  Barideh  or  to  the  Round  Fountain;  it  might  seem 
rather  to  refer  to  some  small  source  on  the  shore,  not  far  perhaps 
from  Mejdel."  But  if  Robinson  had  incjuired  from  those  who  value 
and  preserve  ecclesiastical  tradition  he  would  have  learned  that  "  the 
level  and  grassy  spot"  was  the  hill  immediately  to  the  east  of  the 
Tabighah  plain  and  just  north  of  the  springs.^  No  more  beautiful 
spot  for  the  scene  of  this  event — or  for  any  other  great  open-air  gather- 
ing— could  be  found.  The  fountain  is  undoubtedly  that  rising  in 
the  Birket  Sheikh  Ali  edh  Dhaher,  as  a  whole  succession  of  pilgrims 
associate  the  multiplication  of  the  five  loaves  and  the  two  fishes  with 
the  seven  springs  or  Heptapegon,  from  which  latter  word  the  name 
Tabighah  is  derived.''  The  derivation  does  not  on  paper  have  the 
same  manifest  reasonableriess  as  it  has  when  one  hears  the  latter  word 
pronounced  by  the  Bedawin  of  the  desert;  the  similarity  is  then 
immediately  apparent. 

Now,  this  site  being  fixed,  the  statement  of  Bishop  Arculfus  is 
surely  correct  when  he  says  that  from  there  "  along  the  margin  of  the 
lake,  by  not  a  long  circuit,  they  arrive  at  Capernaum  upon  the  shore." 
He  then  describes  Capernaum  as  he  saw  it  from  a  neighboring  hill: 

1  In  the  Palestine  Exploration  Fund  Memoirs  the  hill  el  '^Oreimeh,  to  the  west  of 
the  plain  of  Tabighah,  is  suggested  as  the  traditional  site  referred  to;  it  is  also  stated 
that  this  was  probably  the  spot  known  as  Mensa  Christi.  Without  entering  into  a 
full  discussion  of  these  ecclesiastical  traditions,  which  would  be  foreign  to  the  present 
purpose,  I  may  say  that  all  the  evidence  and  the  present  local  tradition  seem  to  be  in 
favor  of  the  hill  to  the  east  of  the  plain.  The  Mensa  appears  at  one  time  to  have  been 
a  flat  stone  near  the  lake  at  which  Jesus  provided  the  meal  after  the  resurrection.  It 
is  mentioned  by  several  early  pilgrims.  Later  on  the  stone  disappeared  or  was  lost 
sight  of;  and  the  plain  itself,  supposed  then  to  be  the  site  of  the  miracle  of  the  feeding 
of  the  five  thousand,  was  called  the  Mensa.  (See  statement  of  the  Franciscan  Noe 
farther  on;  also  a  somewhat  fuller  discussion  of  the  traditions,  and  a  paper  on  "The 
Site  of  Capernaum"  by  the  present  writer  in  the  Quarterly  Statement  of  the  Palestine 
Exploration  Fund  for  July,  1907). 

2  For  an  able  review  of  all  the  traditions  connected  with  Tabighah  see  M.  Heidet, 
Das  heilige  Land  (1896),  pp.  347-58,  chapter  on  "Tabighah  und  seine  Erinnerungen." 


CAI'IKWIM  85 

'"It  liad  no  wall;  and  Inini^  conl'incd  lo  a  narrow  space  between  the 
mountain  and  lake,  it  extended  a  loni^  way  upon  the  shore  from  west 
to  east,  having  the  mountain  on  the  north  and  the  lake  on  the  south." 
I  must  confess  I  cannot  see  one  j)oint  in  this  description  which  fits 
the  Khurbet  Minia,  while  as  a  description  of  the  Tell  Hum  site,  espe- 
cially as  that  of  one  viewing  it  from  the  distance,  it  is  quite  accurate. 
Khurbet  Minia  is  out  in  the  plain  el  Ghuweir,  is  in  no  way  shut  in 
between  the  mountain  and  the  lake,  and  does  not  and  can  never  have 
extended  along  the  shore.  Arculfus  evidenUy  wishes  to  explain  the 
curiouslv  long  and  narrow  shape  of  Tell  Hum,  and  states  that  this  is 
due  to  the  narrowness  of  the  level  surface  near  the  shore.  This  is 
evident  to  anyone  visiting  the  place.  Immediately  to  the  north  of 
the  ruins  the  hills  slope  upward  and  there  is  no  evidence  that  the  city 
ever  extended  on  to  those  hills. 

The  second  pilgrim  quoted  by  Robinson  in  favor  of  his  contention 
is  Willibald,  who  visited  the  Holy  Land  about  723.  Robinson  says: 
"  From  Tiberias  he  proceeded  along  the  lake  by  Magdala  to  Caper- 
naum, where  was  a  house  and  a  great  wall.  Thence  he  went  on  to 
Bethsaida,  where  was  a  church;  and  remaining  one  night,  he  came 
in  the  morning  to  Chorazin."  This  itinerar}'  has  more  bearing  on 
the  sites  of  Bethsaida  and  Chorazin  than  of  Capernaum.  But  as 
now  Bethsaida  is  generally  reckoned  to  have  been  at  el  Tell  or  some 
other  site  on  el  Bataihah,  and  Chorazin  was  at  Kerazeh,  it  seems 
evident  that  this  pilgrim  went  from  Tiberias  to  Magdala,  then  across 
el  Ghuweir,  past  Tabighah  to  Tell  Hum,  thence  across  the  Jorrlan 
(by  ferry  or  ford)  to  Bethsaida,  where  he  stayed  the  night,  and  then 
again  across  the  Jordan  at  the  ford  and  up  the  hills  to  Chorazin.  The 
evidence  of  Willibald  has  no  bearing  whatever  on  the  Khan  Minia  site. 

Next  we  have  Eugesij)pus  (Hegesippus)  about  11 70.  He  says 
that  "  the  descent  of  that  mountain,  where  our  Lord  preached  to  the 
multitude,  was  two  miles  from  Cai)ernaum;  one  mile  from  there  is 
the  place  where  Jesus  fed  the  live  thousand,  therefore  this  place  is 
named  the  table  (mensa).  Below  this  place  is  the  spot  where  Jesus 
ate  with  his  disciples  after  his  resurrection."  This  would  appear 
clear  and  definite  enough,  but  here  Dr.  Robinson,  in  order  to  maintain 
the  Khan  Minia  site,  says  the  mountain  here  referred  to  was  the 
"Horns  of  Hattin.  "     Were  this  the  case,  the  description  would  be 


86  STUDIES  IX  GALILEE 

singularly  inexact,  as  from  these  to  Khan  Minia,  as  measured  on  the 
map  on  a  straight  line,  is  eight  miles !  The  mountain  here  referred 
to  is  clearly  part  of  the  Tabighah  district  and  perhaps  the  hill  where 
today  stands  the  Sajaret  el  Mubarakeh  which  is  supposed  to  mark 
the  "mount  of  benediction." 

The  next  pilgrim  quoted  by  Robinson  is  the  German  Dominican 
monk  Burkhard  or  Brocardus  about  1283.  His  testimony  is  so 
important,  and,  when  quoted  fully,  so  contrary  to  the  conclusion  of 
Robinson,  that  I  quote  a  translation  of  it  at  some  length.  After 
descending  the  "Mount  of  the  Beatitudes,"  before  described  as  lying 
to  the  east  of  the  plain  of  Tabighah,  he  goes  on: 

At  the  foot  of  the  mountain,  about  thirty  paces  from  the  sea,  arises  a  fountain 
of  living  water,  which  is  surrounded  by  a  wall  and  which  is  supposed  to  be  a  vein 
of  the  Nile  because  in  it  is  found  the  Coracinus  fish  which  is  found  nowhere  else. 
Josephus  calls  this  fountain  Caphemaum  because  the  whole  land  from  the  foun- 
tain to  the  Jordan— a  distance  of  two  hours— belonged  to  Capernaum.  Twenty 
paces  from  the  fountain  toward  the  lake  of  Gennesaret  is  the  place  where  Jesus 
stood  on  the  shore,  after  his  resurrection,  when  he  appeared  to  his  seven  disciples 
who  fished  there  and  said  to  them,  ' ' Children,  have  you  nothing  to  eat  ?"  There 
have  I  seen  impressed  on  a  stone  three  footsteps  of  our  Lord.  It  was  the  feast 
dav  of  St.  Augustine,  but  when  I  arrived  again  on  the  feast  of  the  Annunciation 
the  Saracens  had  removed  the  stone  from  its  place.  Ten  paces  from  this  is  the 
place  where  the  disciples  who  came  from  the  sea  found  the  coals,  and  the  fish 
on  them  and  the  bread.  This  place  is  called  by  the  Christians  tabula  or  w-ensa. 
From  this  place,  at  a  distance  of  one  hour,  is  Capernaum,  and  two  hours  from 
the  same  place  is  the  Jordan. 

Here  the  description  entirely  agrees  with  that  of  numerous  other 
pilgrims  who  one  after  another  describe  the  wonderful  sites  of  Hepta- 
pegon,  i.  e.,  Tabighah,  and  put  Capernaum  as  one  hour— or  sometimes 
two  miles— and  the  Jordan  as  two  hours,  to  the  east.  I  have  purposely 
quoted  and  referred  only  to  those  pilgrims  whose  accounts  have  been 
quoted  by  Robinson  as  supporting  the  Khan  Minia  site  for  Capernaum. 

Among  later  pilgrims  I  need  only  quote  the  account  of  the  Francis- 
can monk  Noe  who,  in  the  account  of  his  travels  (1508),  thus  refers  to 
"  the  place  where  our  Lord  fed  the  five  thousand  with  five  loaves  and 
two  fishes."     He  says: 

Now  if  you  leave  Capernaum  and  go  about  two  miles  thence  you  will  find  a 
mountain  where  our  Lord  preached  and  healed  a  leper;  at  the  foot  of  this  moun- 
tain is  a  place  where  our  Lord  fed  five  thousand  persons,  without  counting  women 


CAI'I'.KX  AIM  87 

and  children,  with  tut-  loaves  and  two  fishes,  as  the  hos|k'I  tells  us.  This  |)laiii 
is  a  beautiful  couiilry  and  is  called  the  tai)le  of  honor,  .\[i>is<i  d'onorr,'  because 
of  the  wonders  which  our  Lord  did  then'. 

It  would  a]i])car  ihal  aftrr  tlii>  linu-  in>uj)cral)k'  diHu  iiltics^  stood 
in  the  way  of  pilgrims  reaching  this  place.  And,  as  has  ha|)|)ened  in 
other  parts  of  the  land,  when  it  became  impossible  to  lead  the  devout 
to  the  real  (or  supj)osed  real  )  site,  more  accessible  |)laccs  were  selected 
as  substitutes.  Thus  the  ti"adition  of  the  "  Mount  of  the  Beatitudes" 
was  transferred  to  the  Horns  of  Hattin.  and  the  site  of  the  feeding 
of  the  fne  thousand  to  a  neighboring  hill  between  this  last  and  T'iber- 
ias.  Prol)al)ly  in  the  earlier  times  the  ])ilgrims  were  conducted  to 
these  spots,  and  from  there  the  sites  to  the  north  of  the  lake  were 
pointed  out;  but  gradually  the  places  from  which  these  sites  were 
viewed  from  afar  came  to  be  looked  uj)on  by  the  pilgrims  as  the  actual 
sites.  The  site  of  th  ■  ap])carance  of  ("liri-l  after  his  resurrection, 
which  through  many  centuries  had  been  pointed  out  at  Tabighah, 
now  became  changed  to  Tiberias.  All  these  sites  being  thus  altered, 
and  the  memory  of  the  traditional  sites  being  lost,  it  is  no  wonderful 
thing  that  the  site  of  Capernaum  was  also  changed.  Thus  it  came 
about  that  in  1620  we  for  the  first  time  read  of  the  suggestion  of  Quares- 
mius  that  Capernaum  was  not  at  Tell  Hum  but  at  Minia.  Thus  he 
says:  "On  the  site  of  Ca])ernauni  are  many  ruins  and  a  miserable 
diversorium  [khan)  called  in  Arabic  Minich,  six  miles  distant  from  the 
place  where  the  Jordan  flows  into  the  lake."  It  is  evident  that  the 
Arabic  town  Munja  having  fallen  into  ruins,  a  supposition  arose  that 
this  was  the  site  of  Caj)ernaum. 

It  has  been  maintained,  init  without  any  actual  e\iflence,  that 
Minia  is  a  word  derixed  from  Minim,  a  word  used  in  rabbinical  writ- 
ings for  heretics,  the  context  showing  that  Christians  are  meant. 
There  were  many  Minim  at  Ka])lKT  Xakhum.  In  the  Midrash 
Rabbah  on  Ecclesiastes  1:8,  among  the  things  "full  of  labor,"  after 
mentioning  with  examples  idleness  and  trade,  it  next  states  that  heresy 

'  It  has  l)cen  sugKcstcfi  to  me  that  this  o)wrc  may  1)0  really  a  corruption  of  the 
Arab  word,  '^oreimeh. 

'  These  ditlicukies,  due  probably  to  tlie  insecurity  of  the  roads  and  the  hostility 
of  the  Moslems,  commenced  in  the  middle  of  the  fourteenth  century  and  extended 
from  that  time  forward  for  some  centuries.  The  testimony  of  Noe  quoted  above 
comes  after  a  long  silence,  and  is  the  last  till  modern  times  in  favor  of  the  old  traditions. 


88  STUDIES  L\  GALILEE 

{menoth)  is  "full  of  labor"  and  illustrates  with  the  following  tale: 
A  certain  Rabbi  Khannina  came  to  Kapher  Nakhum,  where  he  was 
bewitched  by  the  Minim  so  that  he  broke  the  Sabbath  by  riding  on  a 
donkey.  He  then  returned  to  his  uncle,  Rabbi  Joshua,  who  gave  him 
a  kind  of  ointment  by  which  the  spell  was  removed.  The  uncle 
would  not,  however,  trust  his  nephew  for  the  future,  but  said  to  him: 
"  Since  the  braying  of  that  wicked  donkey  is  in  you,  you  cannot  stay 
in  the  land  of  Israel."  So  he  sent  him  away  to  Babylon,  where  he 
eventually  died.  This  story  is  again  referred  to  in  the  ISIidrash  on 
Ecclesiastes  7:26,  where,  after  several  other  similar  illustrations  of 
the  hidden  meaning  of  the  verse,  it  explains  that  the  man  ''good  before 
God"  was  Khannina,  the  nephew  of  Rabbi  Joshua,  and  the  sinners  the 
"children  of  Kapher  Nakhum."  The  date  of  these  references  is 
uncertain;  they  probably  refer  to  some  event  which  happened  in  the 
ver}'  early  days  of  Christianity. 

By  Jewish  tradition  the  name  Kapher  Nakhum  is  derived  from 
the  prophet  Nakhum  (Nahum),  who  was  buried  there.  Schwarz 
states  that  Kepher  Tankhum  is  also  called  in  the  Jerusalem  Talmud 
Kaphir  Takhumin,  i.  e.,  the  town  of  the  boundaries,  and  he  says 
that  here  was  the  boundary  between  Zebulon  and  Naphthali,  as  is 
stated  in  ]Matt.  4: 13.  He  also  quotes  Rabbi  Isaac  Farhi,  who  visited 
the  Holy  Land  in  1322,  as  stating  in  the  "Kaftor  Raphireh"  that 
"Kaphir  Tankhum  or  Nakhum  is  to  the  east  of  Gennesaret  about 
half  an  hour."  In  1334  Isaac  Chilo  came  to  Kaphir  Nakhum  from 
Irbid'  and  found  it  in  ruins;  but  the  tomb  of  Nakhum  was  still 
shown,  and  in  1561  we  have  mention  of  Tankhum  with  the  tombs 
of  Nahum  and  Rabbi  Tankhum.  It  must  be  remembered  that  dur- 
ing the  very  period  covered  by  these  visits  there  was  an  Arab  settlement 
on  the  site  of  Khurbet  Minia,  as  has  been  mentioned  before.  Schwarz 
says  of  his  own  time  (1852):  "This  place  (Tell  Hum)  is  now  a  ruin 
known  to  all  the  Jews;  they  call  it  Kaphir  Tankhum."  He  adds  that 
there  are  three  tombs:  that  of  the  Prophet  Nakhum,  and  of  the  Rabbis 
Tankhuma  and  Tankhum. 

I  Conder  {Bible  Handbook)  argues  that  as  the  Rabbi  was  going  to  Kefr  Anan 
and  took  Kephir  Nakhum  on  his  way,  the  latter  place  must  have  been  at  Khan  Minia, 
inasmuch  as  Tell  Hum  was  too  much  out  of  his  way.  Anyone  referring  to  the  map 
(e.g.,  accompanying  the  chapter  (iii)  on  "Gennesaret")  will  see  that  both  places  are 
completely  out  of  the  direct  route  and  argument  against  one  condemns  both ! 


(■\ri;k\\rM  89 

That  Ti'll  Hum  WdWy  i>  tlu'  >ilr  of  ('a|it'rnaiiiii  i>  thus  shown  from 
five  sources:  (i)  The  ruins,  es|)ecially  those  of  the  uni(|ue  marble 
syna^ouue.  witness  to  how  inij)ortant  a  city  once  stood  here.  Tlie 
])roniinence  of  the  synaj^ot^ue  amoni^  tlie  ruins  is  in  striking  agreement 
with  \hv  fre(|ueiit  imMition  of  iht-  synagogue  in  the  gospels.  (2)  This 
site  agrees  entirely  wilii  the  Hihle  references,  es])ecially  if  it  be  allowed 
(as  1  trust  I  have  demonstrated)  that  Gennesaret  was  an  area  con- 
siderably larger  than  the  le\el  plain  (el  Ghuweir).  (3)  The  refer- 
ences in  Josephus  also  harmonize  with  the  identification  of  this  site 
as  Cajiernaum;  the  fountain  "Caphernaum"  must  without  doubt 
be  the  great  spring  at  Tabighah.  (4)  I  have,  I  hope,  made  it  clear 
that  so  far  from  "a  train  of  historical  notices,  extending  down  to  the 
seventeenth  century,  lixing  the  site  of  Capernaum  at  Khan  Minia," 
the  very  reverse  is  the  case;  and  that  until  the  isolated  statement 
of  Quaresmius,  in  the  seventeenth  century,  every  statement  by  the 
Christian  pilgrims  is  consistent  with  the  Tell  Hum  site.  The  key 
to  the  understanding  of  the  accounts  is  the  recognition  of  the  various 
traditions  connected  with  the  seven  springs — the  Heptapegon — 
of  Tabighah.  (5)  In  the  Jewish  references  we  find  Kaphir  Nakhum 
(the  traditional  tomb  of  the  prophet  Nahum)  identified  with  Ka])hir 
Tankhum,  which  latter  word  has,  by  a  common  linguistic  corruption, 
b?en  altered  to  Telhum  or,  to  use  the  form  common  to  Westerners, 
Tell  Hum. 


CHORAZIX  AXD  BETHSAIDA 


CIIAPTI-.K  \' 
CHOKA/.IN   AND   liKTIIS  All  )A 

Of  Chorazin  it  may  Ix'  said  truly  wc  know  no  mon-  than  can  be 
gathered  from  the  scanty  references  in  Matt.  11:21  and  Luke  10:13. 
It  was  one  of  the  spots  near  the  Lake  of  GaHlee  favored  by  the  teach- 
ing of  Jesus;  it  was  not  far  from  the  associated  cities  of  Capernaum 
and  Bethsaida,  and  il  may  be  seen  that  like  them  it  was  an  impor- 
tant Jewish  center  in  those  days.  The  early  Christian  writers,  Eusebius 
and  Jerome,  describe  Chorazin  as  two  Roman  miles  from  Caper- 
naum, but  the  latter  introduces  an  element  of  ditliculty  in  stating' 
that  it  was  upon  the  shore  of  the  lake.  This  cannot  however  be  in- 
tended as  a  strictly  geographical  description,  for  he  says  the  same  of 
Bethsaida  which,  if  at  et  Tell,  was  at  least  as  far  from  the  lake  itself 
as  Chorazin.  There  is  no  possible  ruin  by  the  lake  side  which  can 
be  identified  as  that  of  Chorazin,  while  at  Khurbet  Kerazeh,  in  an 
extensive  ruin  including  the  remains  of  a  large  s}Tiagogue,  some  two 
miles  north  of  Tell  Hum,  we  have  manifestly  the  Arabic  equivalent  of 
the  ancient  name. 

With  regard  to  Bethsaida  we  have  much  more  definite  information. 
In  addition  to  a  numlxr  of  references  in  the  gosjxls,  there  is  a  good 
deal  to  be  gathered  from  secular  historians.     Thus  Joscphus  states:* 

He  [Philip]  also  advanced  the  Village  ('^wm'?)  of  Bethsaida  to  the  dignity  of  a 
city,  both  by  the  number  of  inhabitants  it  contained  and  also  its  other  grandeur, 
and  called  it  by  the  name  of  Julias,  the  same  name  as  Caesar's  daughter. 

In  another  passage^  we  read  that — 

Caesar  (Xero)  bestowed  on  Agrippa  a  certain  part  of  Galilee,  Tiberias  and 
Taricheae,  and  ordered  them  to  submit  to  his  jurisdiction.      He  also  gave  him 
Julias,  a  city  of  Perea,  with  fourteen  villages  that  lay  about  it. 
It  is  expressly  stated  in  other  passages  that  it  lay  in  lower  Gaulanitis-* 
and  close  to  the  Jordan.'     Philip,  when  he  died  there,  was  buried  with 

«"....  lacus  Gcnncsarcth,  in  rujuA  litorc  Capernaum  ct  Tiljerias  t-t  Bethsaida 
ct  Chorazaim  sitae  sunt." — Jerome,  Jes.,  q.  i. 

^  Ant.,  XVIII.  .xi,  I.  *B.  J.,  II.  i.x.  i. 

3  Ant.,  XX.  viii,  4.  5  B.  J.,  III.  X.  7;    Vila,  §  72. 

93 


94  STUDIES  IX  GALILEE 

great  pomp  and  "  was  carried  to  that  monument  which  he  had  already 
erected  for  himself  beforehand.'"  Pliny  and  Jerome  both  mention 
that  Bethsaida  was  east  of  the  Jordan. 

The  city  thus  referred  to  is  without  doubt  that  mentioned  in  Luke 
9 :  lo.  As  several  villages  appear  from  the  above  extract  to  have  been 
associated  with  Julias,  it  is  quite  likely  that  the  "desert  place,"  the 
scene  of  the  feeding  of  the  five  thousand,  may  have  been  a  distant 
corner  of  its  extensive  domains  lying,  as  has  been  often  suggested,  some 
distance  down  the  east  coast;  in  this  well-watered  district  near  the 
time  of  the  Passover  "green  grass"  would  be  present  in  abundance 
(cf.  John  6:4,  10;  Luke  6:34).  This  region  being  under  the  juris- 
diction of  Herod  Philip,  not  Herod  Antipas,  explains  (Matt.  14:13) 
our  Lord's  returning  after  the  death  of  John  the  Baptist  at  the  hands 
of  the  latter. 

A  Bethsaida  situated  east  of  the  Jordan  also  suits  well  the  condi- 
tions of  Mark  8:22,  for  our  Lord  immediately  after  the  healing  of  the 
blind  man  in  that  city  comes  to  the  villages  of  Caesarea  Philippi  which 
must  have  been,  mainly  at  any  rate,  on  the  east  side  of  the  Jordan. 

The  passage  which  seems  to  imply  the  existence  of  a  second  Beth- 
saida is  Mark  6:45,  but  as  has  repeatedly  been  shown,  this  is  not  neces- 
sarily the  case.  It  must  be  remembered,  first,  that  the  site  of  the 
feeding  of  the  five  thousand  may  have  been  some  little  distance  down 
the  east  shore,  and,  secondly,  that  to  cross  to  "over  against  Bethsaida" 
was  most  quickly  done  by  boat  because  of  the  many  inlets  which 
interrupt  the  shoreway  along  the  plain,  el  Bataihah.  To  cross  a  con- 
siderable bay  and  the  mouth  of  a  channel  like  the  Zakeyeh— consider- 
ably wider  than  the  mouth  of  the  Jordan  itself— might  be  described 
as  going  to  "  the  other  side."  Besides,  a  similar  expression  is  used  by 
Josephus  of  crossing  from  Tiberias  to  Taricheae— both  on  the  west 
side  of  the  lake.  They  were  to  wait  "  over  against  Bethsaida,"  that  is, 
I  take  it,  close  to  the  mouth  of  the  Jordan,  but  on  the  eastern  side,  ready 
to  escort  across  the  river  their  Master  who  was  intending  to  join  them 
by  the  land  route  through  Bethsaida.  They  expected  to  be  there 
first  and  to  wait  on  the  shore  till  he  came,  but  the  storm  set  in  and 
made  a  landing  at  the  Jordan  mouth,  and  even  at  Capernaum,  their 
headquarters,  impossible. 

■  Ant.,  XVIII,  iv.  6. 


ClloUA/.IX    \\I>  HF.THSMDA  95 

With  regard  to  the-  (.•x|)rfssi()n.  Hetlisaida  of  Cjalilcc'  used  in  John's 
Gospel,  it  has  been  clearly  shown'  that  the  term  may  |)erfectly  well 
have  been  ai)i)lied  to  the  city  Julias.  In  a  previous  (juotation  from 
Josepihus'  \vc  notice  that  Julias  was.  along  with  a  certain  pari  of  Cialilec, 
Tiberias  and  Taricheae,  given  by  Xero  to  Agripjm  II;  it  thus  came 
under  one  administration.  In  84  a.  d..  the  east  coast  of  the  lake  was 
detinitely  included  in  the  province  of  Galilee  and  not  many  years  later-* 
(140  A.  D.)  we  have  the  defmite  statement  that  Julias  was  in  Galilee. 
If  we  summarize  the  facts  we  lind:  (i)  The  gospels  make  no  clear 
reference  to  any  second  Bethsaida.  (2)  The  probability  that  there 
were  two  towns  or  villages  of  the  same  name  within  such  a  short  dis- 
tance is  very  slight.  It  must  be  remembered  that  Julias  is  not  a  quali- 
fying epithet  but  a  nrw  name.  Only  confusion  is  made  by  using  the 
name  Bethsaida-Julias.  as  if  the  names  were  used  together.  Probably 
the  vast  majority  of  the  inhal)itants  clung  to  the  Semitic  name  Beth- 
saida, leaving  the  new  foreign  name  for  use  by  the  olTicials  only.  The 
survival  of  Banias  (  =  Panias),  while  the  name  Caesarea-Philijjpi  is 
quite  forgotten,  is  an  example  and  a  result  of  this  custom.  (3)  There 
is  no  reference  to,  or  any  suggestion  of.  a  second  Bethsaida  in  any  of 
the  early  Christian  writers  or  i)ilgrimage  records.  (4)  Archaeologic- 
allv  there  is  no  site  on  the  western  shore  which  shows  any  remains  of 
such  a  secon  1  Bethsaida.  If  there  was  such  a  ])lace  it  must  have  been 
a  mere  fishing  suburb  of  Capernaum,  at,  say,  Tabighah. 

With  regard  to  the  situation  of  Julias  there  is  a  considerable  unan- 
imity of  oj)inion;  there  is  indeed  only  one  possible  site  for  such  a  city, 
namely,  et  Tell,  at  the  northwestern  corner  of  the  delta-plain,  el  Batai- 
hah.  It  is  true  th  it  Dr.  Schumacher  is  often  (pioted  as  sui)i)orting  the 
claims  of  the  squalirl  ruin  el  Mes'^adiyeh  on  the  shore  of  this  plain. 
but  as  he  makes  an  equal  claim  of  another  shore-ruin,  el  '^Araj.  this 
opinion  cannot  be  worth  much  in  his  own  eyes.  The  fact  is.  neither 
the  situation'' — it  is  far  from  the  Jordan,  nor  the  suitability  of  its  site 

John  I :44;    12:21. 

»  See  G.  \.  Smith,  Historical  Geography  of  the  Holy  Land;  ami  Buhl.  Geographie 
des  alien  Paldstina,  p.  242. 

3  .-!«/.,  XX,  viii,  4.  4  Pliny.  \     1 

5  "The  ruins  are  uninnartant,  althDu^h  extensive:  the  building  stones  are  mostly 
unhewn.  The  place  is  surrounded  l)y  marshes  and  conserjuently  unhealthy  " — 
C  Schumacher.  The  Jaiilait,  p.  221. 


96 


STUDIES  IN  GALILEE 


CI|()R.\/,I\    \\l)   lU,  III"^\TTi\ 


<>7 


to  Ix'  that  of  an  attractivf  and  >c  mi  royal  city,  nor  its  archaeological 
remains — which  arc  nil,  give  it  any  claim  whatevtr  to  rei)resent  the 
site  of  a  cilv  so  important  as  Julias.  The  more  we  see  of  the  sites  of 
the  old  cities  of  Palestine  the  more  sure  we  may  ix-  of  tlic  likeliness  of 
one  site  and  the  im])ossibility  of  anotlur;  el  Mes^adlyeh  is  an  im- 
jx)ssible  site  for  a  Judaeo- Roman  city.  It  may  well  Ix'  the  site  of  one 
of  those  villaiic  s  wliich  wc  re  Ix'Stowed  with  the  city  upon  Philip. 


KLIN  HKAI'S  OF  BETHSAIDA 

In  giving  a  description,  as  I  here  propose  to  do,  of  the  two  sites, 
Ktrazch  and  et  Tell,  I  think  the  most  satisfactory  way  will  \)c  to  de- 
scrilx-  a  visit  to  these  places.  They  are  both  so  seldom  visited  by  even 
student-tourists  that  some  accotmt  of  how  easily  they  may  Ix-  reached 
may  encourage  Bible  students  to  pay  them  more  attention.  It  is 
quite  astonishing  how  few  who  mention  these  sites  in  guide-books 
and  accounts  of  the  country  have  ever  Ixen  there  themselves. 

The  route  followed  was  from  Safed  to  Kerazeh  (3  hours),  Ktrazeh  to 
Tell  Hum  I  i^  hours  t.  Tell  Hum  to  the  Jordan  (i  hour),  Jordan  mouth, 


98  STUDIES  IN  GALILEE 

via  cl  Araj,  to  ct  Tell  (i  hour),  ct  Tell  via  cd  Dikkeh  to  higher  fords  of 
Jordan  (i  hour),  Jordan  to  Safed  (4hours)^ — in  all  ten  hours,  actual 
traveling  which  might  be  shortened  a  little  by  omitting  ed  Dikkeh  and 
crossing  the  Jordan  at  the  regular  ford,  in  which  case  a  more  fre- 
quented and  shorter  way  to  Safed  can  be  taken.  Although  the  whole 
round  can  easily  be  done  by  a  good  rider  on  a  long  summer's  day, 
yet  I  am,  in  my  account,  combining  two  separate  excursions,  one  made 
in  January,  1907,  from  Safed  to  Tell  Hum  via  Kerazeh,  and  one 
made  in  June,  1907,  from  Tell  Hum  via  et  Tell  to  Safed. 

Safed  is  a  very  favorable  center  for  exploring  the  greater  part  of 
Galilee.  Its  position  is  central.  Thus  Tiberias  is  but  five  hours, 
Banias  but  seven  hours,  Akka  but  nine  hours  away.  Either  Huleh  or 
the  Lake  of  Galilee  can  be  reached  within  three  hours'  easy  ride. 
For  exploration  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  north  shore  of  the  lake,  by 
far  the  most  interesting  point,  it  is  very  convenient.  Especially  is  this 
the  case  with  those  wishing  to  make  their  investigations  in  the  summer 
months  when  it  is  incumbent  on  the  tourist  to  have  a  cool  resort  as 
his  headquarters.  Safed,  2,750  feet  above  the  Mediterranean  and 
about  3,400  feet  above  the  lake,  enjoys  in  the  summer  a  climate 
almost  as  salubrious  as  the  higher  parts  of  the  Lebanon, 

The  route  from  Safed  to  Kerazeh  for  the  first  hour  and  a  half  is 
the  same  as  that  to  Tabighah  and  Tell  Hum.  The  roads  diverge  at 
the  ruined  khan  Jubb  Yusuf — one  of  the  mediaeval  Arab  khans  erected 
on  the  great  Damascus  Road.  The  Jubb  Yusuf,  or  Pit  of  Joseph,  which 
gives  its  name  to  the  khan,  is  a  shallow  pit  on  a  low  hillside,  just'behind 
the  khan,  which  by  a  quite  worthless  Moslem  tradition  is  claimed  to  be 
the  one  into  which  Joseph  was  thrust  by  his  brethren  (Gen.  37 :  24). 
From  this  khan  roads  diverge  in  many  directions:  that  to  Kerazeh 
is  to  the  north  side  of  the  hill  behind  the  khan.  A  few  hundred  yards 
along  this  track  we  came  upon  a  large  encampment  of  Zinghariyeh 
Bedawin,  and  soon  after  we  found  ourselves  descending  an  extraordi- 
narily rough  track  amid  confused  bowlders  of  black  basaltic  rock. 
Indescribably  bad  as  the  road  was,  there  was  no  question  but  that  we 
were  traveling  at  times  on,  at  other  times  beside,  an  ancient  highway 
which  can  be  traced  all  the  way  to  Kerazeh.  The  descent  that  we 
took — there  may  possibly  be  a  better  one — for  the  last  quarter  of  a 
mile  into  the  Wadv  Kerazeh  was  a  sheer  scramble  down  which  few 


C'lK  )R  \/.i\  .\\i>  ur;i'iisAii).\  <;o 

hut  Svrian  liorM'^-  could  haw  followed  us.     Tlu-  valk-v  l)()ttom.  down 
which  irickk-d  a  slu,L,',i,'ish  slrcam,  tin-  r-suIi  of  recent  showers,  was  full 
of  great  black  bowlders  and  rank  marsh  shrubs.     Above  us.  to  the 
southeast,  we  could  see  some  confused  heaps  and  walls,  a  ])art  of  the 
ruins  of  Kerazeh.     At  first  we  wandered  a  little  down  the  valley,  as  we 
had  wronj^fully  gathered  from  the  descri])tion  in  the  Palestine  Explora- 
tion Fund  Memoirs'   that  some   of   the  ruins  were  there.     Poinding 
nothing  but  rugged  natural  rocks,  we  scaled  the  clifTs  some  eighty  feet, 
where  the  valley  makes  a  shar])  turn  round  a  rocky  spur.     At  length, 
on  reaching  the  top  of  this,  we  found  ourselves  on  the  highest  ])oint 
of  the  ruins.     Near  us  were  several  houses  which  the  Hedawin,  who 
make  this  their  headquarters,  ha\e  rebuilt  and  roofed  in;  among  the 
stones  are  many  which  are  well  cut.  and  squared.     A  little  below  us 
to  the  east,  in  practically  the  center  of  the  remains,  was  the  ruined 
synagogue.      To  the  southeast  the  ground  slo])es  downward   in  a 
small  shallow  vallev  running  southwest  toward  the  Wady  Kerazeh; 
there  the  ground  was  thick  with  ruined  houses,  the  majority  of  the 
stones  being  natural  rounded  masses,  but  a  considerable  j^roj^ortion 
long,  well-cut  ])ieces  for  doors  and  windows.     It  must  not  be  forgotten 
in  visiting  such  a  site  as  this  that  the  larger  ])rojK)rtion  of  stones  for 
ordinarv  house  walls  were  used  in  their  natural  condition  or  roughly 
broken.     ( )nly  the  very  best  buildings  were  made  of  cut  stone  through- 
out.    The  ruins  also  cover  a  large  area  of  sloping  lanrl  to  the  north- 
east.    Counting  only  what  lies  on  the  surface,  the  ruins  coxer  some 
acres  and  are,  as  far  as  I  can  judge,  more  extensive  than  those  of 
Tell  Hum.     We  found  the  traces  of  three  oil  presses  which  show  that 
the  neighborhood  must  once  ha\e  liad  ])lenly  of  olive  trees.     There  is 
a  Moslem  wely  to  the  northeast  with,  as  usual,  a  few  sicir  trees  around. 
The  synagague  is  the  only  surviving  building  of  importance.     Herr 
Kohl  laid  bare  the  ground  plan  of  the  building  and  many  of  the  larger 
stones,  but  the  site  as  a  whole  would  be  well  worth  an  exhaustive 
examination.     There  was  the  usual  tri])le  gateway,  and  the  flimensions 
aj)i)ear  to  have  been  similar  to  those  at  Tell  HQm.-'     \er)-  much  still 

'  Vol.  I.  p.  402. 

'  "It  appears  to  have  resembled  the  synagoRue  at  Tell  Hum  more  closely  than 
the  others.  The  interior  length  is  74  ft.  6  in.,  with  a  hreaiith  of  4<)  i\.."— Palestine 
Exploration  Fund  Memoirs,  \'o\.  I,  p.  401. 


lOO  STUDIES  I\  GALILEE 

lies  under  the  surface,  but  the  many  scattered  fragments  of  elaborately 
carved  stone  on  the  surface,  and  built  with  the  walls  of  neighboring 
houses,  show  that  the  synagogue  was  one  over  which  much  labor  had 
been  expended.  The  result,  however,  could  never  have  been  so  fine 
as  at  Tell  Hum  because  only  the  black  volcanic  rock  of  the  district 
was  employed.  From  the  doors  of  the  synagogue  a  fine  view  of  the 
Lake  of  Galilee  is  visible  toward  the  south.  This,  however,  is  the 
only  touch  of  beauty.  Today  the  neighborhood  is  dreary  in  the 
extreme.  The  Wady  Kerazeh,  which  makes  a  bend  round  the  spur 
on  which  the  city  stood,  presents  today  an  unbroken  surface  of  dull, 
black  rocks  unrelieved  by  a  single  green  tree;  the  whole  surface  of 
the  ground  around  is  of  the  same  dreary  color.  Looking  about,  I 
tried  in  imagination  to  see  the  hill  slopes  covered  with  terrace  above 
terrace  of  clustering  vines  and  the  level  slopes  to  the  east  green  with 
olive  groves;  but  the  depressing  reality  so  obtruded  itself  that  I  cannot 
recall  the  site  of  Chorazin  as  anything  but  cheerless  and  forbidding. 

The  learned  Dr.  Robinson  condemned  this  site  topographically 
without  having  visited  it.     He  writes:' 

The  ruins  consist  simply  of  a  few  foundations  of  black  stones,  the  remains 
evidently  of  a  poor  and  inconsiderable  village.  They  are  known  as  Khurbet 
Kerai^eh.     We  did  not  go  to  them  as  th?re  was  no  path  and  because  they  were  in 

full  view The  remains  are  too  trivial  to  have  ever  belonged  to  a  place  of 

importance The  site  is  ...  .  shut  in  among  the  hills,  without  any  view 

of  the  lake  and  remote  from  any  public  road  whether  ancient  or  modern. 

This  very  unusual  neglectfulness  on  the  part  of  Dr.  Robinson  has 
caused  a  regular  tangle  of  difficulties  in  New  Testament  topography. 
Had  he  visted  this  site  he  would  have  seen  ruins  even  more  extensive 
than  Tell  Hum^  and  the  remains  of  a  synagogue  second  only  in  impor- 
tance to  that  of  the  latter  place;  he  would  have  noticed  the  one  real 
attraction  of  the  site,  the  magnificent  view  of  the  lake,  and  he  could  not 
have  failed  to  trace  the  well-marked  remains  of  the  ancient,  probably 
Roman,  road.  He  would  not,  had  he  seen  the  ruins,  have  located 
Chorazin  at  Tell  Htam  and  made  other  theories  in  topography  which 
have  been  so  much  quoted  and  relied  on  by  subsequent  writers.  Sir 
Charles  Wilson  who  visited  the  site  at  a  later  date  gives  a  very  different 

'  Biblical  Researches,  Vol.  Ill,  p.  347. 

2  This  is  the  opinion  which  Herr  Kohl  expressed  to  me  verbally. 


CHORAZTX  AXI)  HITH'^AIDA  lOi 

account.'  He  has  no  doubl  alwut  this  Ix-ing  the  site  of  Chorazin. 
Wc  may  lo(hiy,  1  think,  accept  this  site  as  one  of  the  certainties  of 
biblical  topograj)hy. 

FromKhurbet  Kerazeh  to  Tell  Hum  it  is  possiijle  to  follow  the  old 
(Roman)  road  which  ran  down  the  shallow  valley,  ir^which  lay  the 
southern  parts  of  the  town,  and  enter  the  Wady  Kerazch.  Near  the 
mouth  of  the  latter  is  to  Ix'  found  the  Roman  necropolis  of  Cajx-rnaum. 
Instead  of  taking  this  route  we  descended  by  a  path  down  the  steep, 
rockv  hillside,  reaching  our  goal  in  a  little  over  an  hour. 

Tell  Hum  to  ct  Tcll.—\\\  left  the  Franciscan  hospice  at  Tell  Hum 
at  1 1 :  30  and,  after  riding  for  ten  minutes  through  ruined  foundations, 
we  crossed  the  Wady  Kcrazeh  (here  called  Wady  el  Weibdah) — a 
rather  picturesque  torrent  bed  with  rocky  banks.  In  a  quarter  of  an 
hour  we  reached  the  fertile  little  Wady  en  Nashef,  its  center  full  of 
oleanders  overhanging  a  number  of  small  water  channels.  To  the 
south  there  is  a  pretty  bay  where  many  cattle  were  standing  knee  deep 
in  the  water.  Ten  minutes  farther  on  we  crossed  the  Wady  Zukluk, 
on  the  lake  shore  of  which  is  a  hdsel  (a  storehouse  for  grain,  etc.) 
belonging  to  the  Shemahieh  Bedawin.  We  here  turned  to  the  beach, 
passing  the  wely  of  Sultan  Ibrahim,  a  tomb  under  two  large  sidr 
(acacia)  trees.  The  sand  lying  along  the  shore  is  here  a  dirty  grayish 
black,  being  the  product  of  the  decomposition  of  basaltic  rocks.  On 
reaching  the  Jordan  mouth  a  friendly  Bedawy,  with  his  kamh  held  well 
above  his  waist,  escorted  us  over  the  ford  which  here  lies  along  the  bar 
and  makes  considerable  circuit  into  the  lake.  The  depth  was  sufficient 
just  to  submerge  our  stirrups.  A  considerable  herd  of  young  buffaloes 
Iving  in  the  water  near  our  landing-place — looking  from  the  distance 
like  a  crop  of  black  rocks — all  rose  simultaneously  as  we  passed  them, 
to  stare  at  the  strange  sight  of  jrangees  invading  their  domains.  At 
the  spot  where  we  reached  the  shore  the  beach  consists  of  a  solid  mass 
of  white  shells  with  which  I,  in  a  few  minutes,  filled  one  of  my  saddle- 
bags. Just  inland  of  the  Ixach  a  consideral^le  stretch  of  irrigated  plain 
has  recently  Ixen  planted  with  orange  and  lemon  trees.  The  young 
trees  look  flourishing.  We  skirted  the  shore  to  the  spot  el  Araj,  where 
there  is  an  old  hasel,  two  modern  cottages,  and  some  palms.  This  is 
suggested  by  Schumacher  as  the  site  of  the  "fishing  suburb"  of  Beth- 

'  Recovery  of  Jerusalem,  pp.  346.  347. 


I02  STUDIES  IN  GALILEE 

saida/  and  though  1  had  been  there  before  I  specially  visited  it  to  see 
what  evidences  were  to  be  found  to  support  such  a  view.  I  must  con- 
fess there  seemed  to  me  to  be  little  in  favor  of  such  a  theory.  Neither 
walls  nor  hewn  stones  in  any  numbers  are  visible.  In  this  marshy 
delta  marked  changes  must  have  taken  place  in  the  last  2,000  years, 
and  probably  the  conformation  of  the  low  beach  here  was  in  New 
Testament  times  quite  different  from  that  which  holds  at  present. 
We  found  neither  Roman  remains  nor  any  sign  of  a  Roman  road,  but 
even  had  there  been  it  is  difficult  to  see  what  bearing  they  could  have 
on  the  site  of  the  city  of  Bethsaida.  The  fishermen,  then  as  now,  prob- 
ably occupied  temporary  huts  on  the  shore  when  engaged  in  loading 
or  unloading  their  boats.  At  the  back  of  el  Araj  is  a  stretch  of  marshy 
lagoon,  which  is  crossed  by  a  causeway  of  stones,  partially  submerged 
in  the  middle :  it  is  a  narrow  path  like  a  water  channel,  and  admits  of 
pedestrian  traffic  only;  with  our  horses  we  had  to  skirt  the  marsh  for 
about  ten  minutes  in  a  westerly  direction  till  we  rounded  its  western  end. 
Thence  wt  turned  straight  toward  et  Tell  which  we  could  see  about  a 
mile  off.  Our  path  ran  for  most  of  the  way  alongside  a  shallow  irri- 
gation canal,  one  of  many  with  which  this  plain  is  intersected.  Prob- 
ably the  constant  alluvial  deposits  have  buried  all  traces  of  the  made 
roads  which  must  have  once  run  here.  Harvesting  was  going  on  in 
places — it  was  June — and  trains  of  camels  loaded  high  with  masses 
of  corn  swept  over  the  plain  in  various  directions;  much  of  the  rich 
land,  however,  was  given  over  to  weeds.  In  just  an  hour  from 
el  Araj,  by  our  very  winding  path,  we  reached  the  foot  of  et  Tell. 
Running  past  the  southern  extremity  of  the  hill  is  a  well-trodden  high- 
road, evidently  an  ancient  route,  parallel  to  which  runs  an  irrigation 
canal  from  the  Jordan.  At  the  point  at  which  we  reached  et  Tell,  the 
southeast  corner,  is  a  wely  shaded  by  a  terebinth  and  several  sidr 
trees. 

The  tell  is  a  fairly  lofty  hill,  its  highest  point  being  some  50  or  60 
feet  above  the  surrounding  plain.  It  is  connected  by  a  narrow  lower 
neck  with  the  hills  behind  it  to  the  north,  but  the  other  sides  rise 
steeply  from  the  level  ground.  Its  area  is  considerable,  quite  enough 
to  have  sustained  a  city  of  fair  size — in  Roman  times.  From  end  to 
end  it  is  strewn  with  ruins  and  although  we  could  find  no  carved  frag- 
^  The  Janlan,  p.  94. 


riK^RA/IN"  AND   m.II  IS  \I  1 )  \  103 

ments,  there  is  a  large  (luanlily  of  \vell-cut-s(|uare(l  basaltic  blocks. 
The  south  and  southwestern  sloi)es  are  covered  with  cattle-sheds — 
four-walled  structures  with  roofs  sui)|)orted  by  double  arches.  These 
are  all  built  of  l)asaltic  blocks,  many  wt-U  sijuared,  and  over  the  doors 
are  lintels  of  long  and  well-cut  stones.  Besides  several  dozen  cattle- 
sheds  still  in  rei)air  there  arc  at  least  as  many  in  ruins.  Xo  one  now 
dwells  permanently  on  the  lell  which,  in  addition  to  its  use  as  a  winter 
refuge  for  the  cattle  of  the  Tellawiyeh  Arabs,  is  the  cemetery  of  this 
tribe  of  mongrel  Bedawin.  Their  graves  are  scattered  all  over  the  hill 
both  on  the  summit  and  around  its  sides.  It  is  the  headquarters  of 
this  tribe,  whose  name  is  derived  from  et  Tell. 

Thick  clumps  of  tall  thistles  rendered  our  examination  of  the  site 
difticult,  but  where  vegetation  had  been  trodden  down  the  pottery  frag- 
ments—Arab, so  far  as  I  could  judge— were  lying  thick.  There  can 
be  no  question  but  that  this  is  an  ancient  site  of  importance  which 
would  well  repay  excavation;  it  is  to  be  feared,  however,  that  the 
numerous  graves  scattered  over  the  best  parts  would  be  an  insuperable 
obstacle.  From  many  points  of  view  the  site  is  a  suitable  one  for  a 
citv.  It  is  one  of  the  common  type  of  ancient  fortified  posts — a  hill 
isolated  by  nature  on  almost  every  side;  such  a  site  as  this  was  probably 
a  fortified  town  in  pre- Roman  times.  Secondly,  the  site  is  a  healthy 
one  as  comy)ared  with  the  intensely  malarious  ]:)lain.'  Immediately 
we  mounted  the  hill  a  refreshing  breeze,  not  felt  before,  met  us.  The 
dwellers  in  the  Bataihah  marshes  suffer  from  a  most  virulent  form  of 
malaria;  no  fi.xed  population  could  flourish  in  this  region.  On  the  hill 
slopes,  above  the  irrigated  and  marshy  land,  within  reach  of  fresher 
air,  life  might  well  be  far  more  salubrious.  Thirdly,  the  site  is 
one  of  great  natural  beauty.  The  view  of  the  lake  is  one  of  the 
most  charming  I  have  seen;  although  we  are  looking  at  the  lake 
from  the  northeast  corner  one  receives  the  impression  of  being  in  the 
middle  of  the  north  shore — the  whole  of  the  sweep  to  the  northwest 
around  Gennesaret  is  hidden.  The  plain,  shut  in  by  an  amphitheater 
of  hills,  even  today  is  attractive,  but  when  fully  cultivated  must  have 
presented  a  sea  of  verdure.     To  the  southwest  the  serpentine  Jorrlan 

'  The  whole  Jordan  Valley  is  unhealthy,  but  in  the  northern  part  the  two  worst 
spots  are  the  shores  of  the  Huleh  and  the  plain  el  Bataihah.  Here  a  large  proportion 
of  the  inhabitants  have  enormous  spleens  and  even  •'black-water  fever"  occurs. 


I04  STUDIES  IX  GALILEE 

winds  its  way  through  a  wide  plain'  of  green  fohage,  while  almost  due 
west — between  et  Tell  and  the  Jordan — is  a  mass  of  trees  and  shrubs. 
The  low  hills  to  the  north,  now  so  bare,  were  doubtless,  in  the  days  of 
the  city's  habitation,  covered  thick  with  olive  trees.  Many  "wild" 
olives  and  tigs  may  be  seen  today.  Then  such  a  city,  dominating 
a  region  of  rich  agricultural  possibilities,  must  have  been  wealthy. 
There  is  no  sign  in  the  whole  plain  of  any  rival — Julias  was  evidently 
the  chief  city  of  the  district:  the  fourteen  villages,  which  we  read  were 
given  with  it  to  Agrippa,  were  very  probably  to  some  extent  dependent 
on  it,  the  chief  city  of  the  district.  Today  the  neighborhood  produces 
barley,  wheat,  maize,  gourds,  and  melons,  as  well  as  walnuts,  pome- 
granates, olives,  figs,  oranges,  lemons,  sycomore  figs,  and  prickly  pears. 
An  equally  important  source  of  wealth  must  have  been  its  position  as 
the  distributing  center  of  fish  all  over  Galilee.  Today  the  chief  fishing 
grounds  on  the  lake  are  not  at  Tiberias  nor  at  Tabighah  but  at  el 
Bataihah.  The  fishing  at  the  two  former  places  depends  much  on  the 
season;  at  the  last  good  fishing  is  obtainable  all  the  year  round. 
From  the  shores  of  this  delta,  and  from  the  Jordan  itself,  fish  are  daily 
taken  in  large  numbers.  Loads  of  fish  come  up  to  Safed  daily,  passing 
close  to  the  foot  of  et  Tell.  It  is  true  that  because  of  the  private 
ownership  of  the  plain  by  a  Moslem  effendi  at  Damascus,  as  well  as 
the  untrustworthiness  of  the  Bedawin,  the  fishermen  do  not  live  here — 
their  homes  are  at  Tiberias,  and  they  make  temporary  shelters  in  reed- 
huts  along  the  shore.  If,  howe\'er,  at  any  time  fishermen  came  here 
with  their  families  they  would  unquestionably  make  their  home  at 
et  Tell,  if  they  were  allowed  to  do  so.  With  good  roads  el  Araj  or 
the  Jordan  mouth  could  be  reached  in  half  an  hour,  and  the  Jordan, 
at  the  ford,  in  half  that  time.  Bethsaida  could  never  have  been,  as 
some  have  suggested,  half  on  one  side  of  the  river  and  half  on  the 
other,  if  et  Tell  were  the  site;  it  is  much  too  far  away.  I  have 
endeavored  to  make  it  clear  that  Bethsaida  might  have  been  a  place 
of  fishing,  i.  e.,  the  center  of  the  fishing  industry  for  practically  all 
Northern  Galilee,  and  the  home  of  the  fishermen,  without  its  being 
situated  upon  the  miasmic  sea-shore  itself. 

Et  Tell  to  Safed. — At  the  southwest  angle  of  the  tell,  near  a  beauti- 

I  For  an  interesting  description  of  this  plain  see  The  Jaiilan,  pp.  io6,  107.     Schu- 
macher gives  its  greatest  length  as  four  miles;  its  breadth  in  the  center  as  i\  miles. 


nioR  \7.I\  WD   HI.TilSAIDA 


lo: 


io6  STUDIES  IN  GALILEE 

ful  jamez  (sycomore  fig),  is  a  copious  fountain.'  The  main  road  runs 
past  this  due  west  to  the  ford  and  thence  to  Safed.  We  took  a  road 
to  the  right  past  the  jamez,  crossed  a  rocky  spur  where  were  camped 
some  Bedawin,  and  then  traversed  a  beautiful  lane  shaded  by  fruit- 
trees  and  cacti.  To  our  left  lay  several  mills  half  hidden  in  luxuriant 
foliage,  and  no  less  than  five  mill  streams,  tier  above  tier,  ran  parallel 
with  our  road.  We  turned  north  and  ascended  the  \"alley  of  the  Jor- 
dan, the  noisy  stream  winding  by  many  channels  through  masses  of 
willows  and  oleanders  a  considerable  distance  below  us.  At  length  we 
reached  ed  Dikkeh,  and  examined  the  carved  stones,  the  remains 
apparently  of  a  synagogue.^  Leaving  ed  Dikkeh  under  the  guidance 
of  a  young  Bedawy,  we  crossed  the  Jordan,  here  divided  into  no  less 
than  eight  streams,  several  of  them  rapid  and  wide,  and  almost  all 
with  slippery,  stony  bottoms.  On  the  farther  bank  we  soon  found  a 
path — narrow  but  well  marked  throughout — leading  to  Safed.  The 
first  hour  and  a  half  we  gradually  ascended  along  and  up  the  western 
side  of  the  Jordan  \'alley;  the  river  itself  was,  however,  hidden  in  a 
deep  and  narrow  bed  between  steep  banks.  After  crossing  the  edge 
of  the  ghor  we  saw  before  us  the  Safed  hills,  toward  which  we  made  a 
direct  course,  reaching  our  destination  just  four  hours  after  crossing  the 
Jordan  ford. 

'  This  apparently  is  called  <^Ain  et  Tell;  it  is  not  the  large  spring  i^Ain  et  Mus- 
mar,  mentioned  by  Schumacher;  this  lies  farther  east.  We  crossed  a  considerable 
stream  flowing  westward  to  the  Jordan  before  we  reached  the  tell. 

^  I  think  it  is  worth  considering  that  these  remains,  which  today  are  a  mere 
jumble  of  fragments,  may  possibly  have  been  carried  off  at  one  time  from  et  Tell. 


THE  AXCIEXT  SYNAGOGUES 


CHAPTER  \  I 
THE  AXCIEXT  SYNAGOGUES 

A  nunibcr  i)f  ruins,  which  have  \K-vn  idi-ntificrl  as  those  of  syna- 
gogues, lie  scattered  over  a  comparatively  small  area  of  what  is 
popularly  known  as  Galilee.  Successive  explorers  and  archaeologists' 
have  one  after  another  approached  the  examination  of  them  afresh, 
but  each  in  turn  has  been  compelled  to  accept  the  opinion,  now  uni- 
versally held,  that  these  buildings  are  of  Jewish  origin.  The  entire 
absence  of  shrines  or  idol  pedestals  is  against  their  being  pagan 
temples,  the  want  of  orientation  and  absence  of  apse  tell  against 
their  being  Christian  churches,  while  several  general  characteristics 
are  {positively  in  favor  of  Jewish  influence.  The  situation  of  these 
buildings,  exclusively  within  an  area  where  we  know  that  Jewish 
influence  was  strong  at  the  period  within  which  they  must  belong, 
and  the  occurrence  uj)on  the  sur\i\ing  fragments  of  several  of  these 
buildings  of  Hebrew  inscrij)tions — one  at  least  of  which  must,  from 
its  position,  belong  to  the  time  of  the  building's  construction — are 
strong  points  in  favor  of  this  view.  Further,  the  architectural  orna- 
mentation is  in  many  of  its  details  characteristically  Jewish;  the 
seven-branched  candlestick,  which  occurs  also  on  contem])orary 
Jewish  tombs,  the  vine  branches  and  grape  clusters,  the  palm  tree 
and  palm  branches^  the  cup  (thought  by  some  to  be  the  traditional  idea 
of  the  Cup  of  Manna)  are  all  ornaments  familiar  to  us  as  the  most 
characteristic  adornments  of  the  Jewish  coinage.     The  geometrical 

design,  known  today  as  Solomon's  seal   \  X,  which  occurs  at  Tell 

Hum,  is  also  traditionally  of  Hebrew  origin.  Even  the  frequently 
occurring  liorLi  are  no  objection,  for  these  figures  are  common  in 
later  synagogue  architecture.' 

'  For  example,  Renan  {Mission  de  Phenicie,  pp.  761-83);  Robinson  (Biblical 
Researches,  Vols.  II  and  III);  CJut'rin  (Galilee)\  Kitchener  {P.  E.  F.  Memoirs,  Vol.  I, 
and  special  papers);  \Vils<in  (P.  E.  F.  special  papers);  Thiersch  (Miit.  der  deutsch- 
orient.  Gesellsclujjt);  Kohl  (MiJt.  der  deutsch-orient.  Gesellschajt,  No.  29). 

»  See  Kauffmann,  ".-Krt  in  the  Synagogue,"  Jewish  Quarterly  Reitcw,  1897. 

109 


no  STUDIES  IN  GALILEE 

The  most  striking  thing  about  these  buildings  is  their  close 
architectural  similarity.  Although  there  must  have  been  scores  of 
synagogues  in  GaUlee,  these  are  the  only  ruins — unmistakably 
recognized  as  such — that  have  survived,  and  yet  all  are  built  on  one 
general  plan.  The  stones  of  which  they  are  made  are  large,  the  exter- 
nal face  is  smoothly  dressed,  the  inner  is  left  rough  to  receive  a 
coating  of  plaster;  they  are  set  without  mortar.  The  extremely 
massive,  almost  clumsy  character  of  the  masonry  has  secured  the 
survival  of  at  least  some  of  the  original  structures.  With  but  one 
exception  the  synagogues  face  south;  in  at  least  six  the  main  entrance 
is  through  a  triple  doorway  consisting  of  a  large  and  lofty  central 
portal  and  two  lower  ones  on  each  side.  These  doors  have  peculiar 
architrave  moldings  of  a  kind  closely  related  in  all  the  members  of 
the  group,  and  in  several  the  lintels  are  highly  ornamented.  The 
doors  were  folding,  with  socket  hinges,  and  were  closed  by  bars  fixed 
on  the  inside.  Within  the  building  there  were  rows  of  pillars  resting 
on  a  pHnth  course  running  parallel  to  the  side  and  back  walls,  and 
separating  the  space  into  a  central  lofty  court  or  nave  and  a  three-sided 
outer  part — similar  to  the  aisles  and  chancel  of  a  church — divided  into 
two  stories  by  a  wooden  gallery.  One  of  the  most  characteristic 
features  of  these  buildings  is  the  occurrence  of  "double"  or  more 
strictly  speaking  "clustered"  columns  at  the  junction  of  the  lateral 
rows  with  the  end  row  of  columns.  These  clustered  columns  are 
square,  like  pillars,  at  the  external  angles,  but  internally  are  composed 
of   two  engaged  columns — the  transverse   section   being  thus  heart 

shaped  X\.  On  account  of  their  great  bulk,  and  doubtless,  too, 
their  uselessness  for  later  buildings  for  which  ordinary  columns  may 
have  been  in  demand,  remains  of  these  clustered  columns  have  sur- 
vived in  almost  all  the  ruins.  Another  feature,  probably  common  to 
all  the  synagogues,  was  a  stone  bench  for  the  worshipers  against  the 
three  sides  under  the  gallery. 

Some  of  the  sculptured  decorations  have  been  already  mentioned, 
others  will  be  touched  upon  when  the  individual  ruins  are  described. 
But  one  rather  surprising  feature,  common  to  all,  is  the  occurrence 
of  animal  figures,  especially  Hons  (or  lambs),'  and  eagles.     In  some 

I  These  figures  have  almost  everywhere  been  mutilated.  The  majority  are  cer- 
tainly lions,  but  some,  partly  because  of  the  rough  carving  and  partly  because  of 
mutilation,  cannot  be  identified  with  certainty. 


ANfiiA'T  svxAr.onrr.s  m 

of  tlu-  s\  na^oi^Ufs  Iniman  ligurcs — usually  inte-nlionally  mulilaud  — 
arc  found. 

A  brief  (k'scrii)lioii  of  tlu'  mori-  iniporiant  ft'alurcs  of  tlu'  Tell 
Hum  synagogue  is  probably  the  best  method  of  giving  an  idea  of 
the  general  features  of  the  whole  groujx  This  building  appears  to 
have  been  the  most  ornate  as  well  as  the  largest  of  these  structures, 
and  may  have  been  the  type  after  which  the  others  were  modeled. 
Although  it  mav  ha\e  been  built  haxing  its  principal  entrance  south. 
with  the  idea  of  facing  toward  Jerusalem — in  a  very  general  way  — 
it  is  quite  as  likely  that  this  and  the  Kerazeh  synagogue  were  placed 
thus  to  suit  their  surroundings,  i.  e.,  to  turn  their  highly  ornamented 
facades  toward  the  lake.  Built  lluis.  ihe\  present  their  most  pleasing 
aspect  toward  those  sailing  on  the  lake  and  atTord  the  frequenters 
beautiful  views  from  the  terraces  and  open  doors.  The  later  syna- 
gogues being  modeled  after  them  followed  the  same  general  direction, 
although  this  was  not,  at  any  rate  according  to  the  Talmud,'  the 
orthodox  arrangement.  The  Tell  Hum  synagogue  was  seventy-eight 
feet  by  tifty-ninc  feet.  The  triple  southern  doors  opened  upon  a 
raised  terrace,  which  was  approached  by  llights  of  steps — four  on 
the  western  and  fourteen  on  the  eastern  side.  Each  of  these  stair- 
cases led  from  a  paved  street  running  toward  the  lake,  some  forty- 
four  yards  to  the  south.  In  the  eastern  wall  is  a  small  door  leading 
into  the  court  paved  with  limestone  blocks  previously  described.^ 
The  northern  and  eastern  boundaries  of  this  court  are  at  such 
irregular  angles  to  the  synagogue  as  to  make  it  clear  that  this  must 
belong  to  an  earlier  building.  Several  massive  blocks  of  stone  l>ing 
here  are  ornamented  in  a  much  more  primitive  way  than  the  rest, 
and  may  be  remains  of  this  more  ancient  .synagogue. 

The  southern  fajade  was  the  part  of  the  synagogue  on  which  was 
lavished  the  greater  part  of  the  external  decoration,  the  remaining 
outer  walls  being  adorned  by  simi)le  j)ilasters  of  low  j)rojection. 
From  the  fragments  of  the  southern  facade,  which  were  found  i)ro- 
jected  on  the  ground  as  much  as  eleven  yards  in  front  of  the  terrace 
by  some  mighty  earthquake,  it  is  possible  to  reconstruct  its  chief 
features.^     On  the  lintel  of  the  central  ])()rtal  were  carvefl  an  eagle 

'  Tos.  Meg.  4.  22  f. 

'  See  plan,  p.  75. 

3  The  description  is  taken  from  that  of  Professor  Kohl  iloc.  cit.}. 


112  STUDIES  IX  GALILEE 

and  mythological  figures  (''genii")  carrying  garlands;  on  the  side 
lintels  were  palm  trees  with  date  clusters,  between  which  were  ani- 
mals now  too  much  defaced  for  identification,  but  some  at  least  of 
which  appear  to  have  been  centaurs.  Associated  with  the  main 
door  were  a  couple  of  handsomely  carved  consoles,'  each  with  a 
palm  tree  with  dates  in  high  relief.  Above  this  door  was  a  window 
surmounted  by  a  large  stone  beautifully  carved  in  the  form  of  a 
conch.  The  top  of  this  wall  apparently  terminated  in  a  gable,  within 
the  angle  of  which  ran  a  much  decorated  arch.  The  interior  was 
on  the  general  plan  referred  to  above.  ^  A  slightly  raised  plinth  ran 
twelve  and  one-half  feet  inside  each  of  the  lateral  walls  and  seven  and 
one-half  feet  inside  the  north  wall.  Upon  this  structure  stood  six 
stylobates  for  round  columns  on  each  side  and  two  at  each  end,  while 
at  the  corners  stood  elaborate  special  supports  for  the  bases  of  the 
clustered  columns.  The  columns  themselves  were  monoliths  four- 
teen feet  high,  crowned  by  debased  Corinthian  capitals  carrying  a 
cornice  with  a  highly  ornamented  frieze.  Numerous  well-preserved 
fragments  of  this  frieze  show  a  great  variety  of  ornament — foliage, 
rosettes,  grapes  and  pomegranates,  stars,  pentagrams  and  hexagrams. 
On  the  northern  frieze  there  were  small  animals — lions  or  lambs — 
emerging  from  acanthus  leaves,  but  these  have  everywhere  been 
intentionally  mutilated.  On  the  back  (i.  c.,  the  outer  edge)  of  the 
cornice  were  rows  of  squared  holes  for  the  wooden  beams  which 
supported  the  gallery,  and  from  the  cornice  arose  a  second  series 
of  smaller  columns  which  supported  the  gabled  wooden  roof.  The 
back  walls  of  this  gallery  appear  to  have  been  considerably  decorated 
with  half-columns  in  relief.  There  was  thus  a  lofty  central  part 
extending  the  whole  height  of  the  building,  around  three  sides  of 
which  ran  rows  of  columns.  The  space  outside  the  columns  was 
divided  into  tw^o  stories,  a  lower  one  some  twenty  feet  or  more 
high,  on  the  same  floor-level  as  the  center  part,  with  stone  benches 
on  the  three  sides  set  against  the  outside  wall,  and  an  upper  part 
or  gallery  with  a  second  series  of  smaller  columns  in  front  and  half 
columns  in  relief  at  the  back,  against  the  outer  wall.     This  gallery, 


P- 


1  The  position  of  these  consoles  may  be  inferred  from  the  Kefr  Ber<:im  ruin  (see 
17- 

2  See  plan,  p.  75. 


114  STUDIES  IX  GALILEE 

judging  from  modern  analogy,  may  have  been  for  the  women.  The 
general  effect  of  the  interior  with  its  double  series  of  columns,  the 
Corinthian  capitals  and  the  elaborate  frieze,  all  of  pure  white  Hme- 
stone,  must  have  been  very  striking.  But  even  more  effective  must 
have  been  the  appearance  as  viewed  from  the  lake  of  the  massive 
and  highly  decorated  front,  standing  out  pure  white  against  its  sur- 
roundings of  black  buildings  and  black  basaltic  rocks. 

The  synagogue  of  Kerazeh  in  the  hills  to  the  north  of  Tell  Hum 
is  shghtly  smaller  than  that  just  described,  but  follows  it  very  closely 
in  architectural  features — more  so  than  any  others.  Only  here, 
and  at  Tell  Hum,  are  the  capitals  of  the  Corinthian  order.  It 
is  entirely  built  of  the  black  basaltic  stone  of  the  neighborhood; 
and  doubtless  on  this  account,  because  of  its  extreme  hardness,  the 
finish  of  the  sculpturing  is  much  inferior  to  the  work  at  Tell  Hum. 
The  decorations  are  very  similar,  and  are  an  interesting  supplement 
to  the  Tell  Hum  work  because  the  figures  of  animals  and  man  have 
to  a  much  greater  extent  escaped  mutilation.  There  are  many 
small  animal  figures,  some  rather  grotesque  human  forms,  and  some 
curious  four-legged  animals  which  the  German  explorers  take  to 
be  centaurs,  but  possibly  intended  for  cherubim.  Four  large  stones 
(hke  "niche  heads")  most  beautifully  carved  out  as  conches  with 
delicate  surrounding  borders,  show  a  very  superior  workmanship  to 
the  rest.  It  is  the  opinion  of  Messrs.  Kohl  and  Watzinger  that  they 
belonged  to  a  baldachino,  the  forerunner  of  the  "ark"  of  modern 
synagogues,  in  which  are  kept  the  scrolls  of  the  law.  Indications 
that  such  a  structure  stood  in  the  central  court  not  far  from  the  door 
were  found  in  others  of  the  synagogues. 

The  remaining  ruins  of  undoubted  synagogues  are  scattered  to 
the  northwest  and  north  of  the  lake.  At  Irbid — the  ancient  Arbela 
— at  the  commencement  of  the  steep  descent  to  the  lake  down  the 
Wady  Hamam,  less  than  two  hours'  ride  west  of  Tell  Hum,  are  the 
ruins  of  a  synagogue  peculiar  in  three  respects:  first,  the  building, 
though  otherwise  undoubtedly  one  of  this  class,  has  its  great  triple 
doorway  facing  east  instead  of  south.  This  is  not  done  in  order  to 
obtain  an  outlook  to  the  lake,  for  only  Gennesaret  is  visible  between 
the  high  cliffs  that  shut  in  the  great  gorge  of  the  Wady  Hamam 
(see  illustration);    it  is  an  inevitable  result  of  the  situation,  for  the 


AXCIKX  r  SVXAC.c  XUKS  115 

building  occu])ic's  i^round  that  ra])i(lly  slopes  downward  to  tin-  iiorlli. 
Second,  the  architecture  is  very  mixed,  both  debased  Corinthian  and 
"Jewish"  Ionic  capitals'  occur,  and  basaU  is  mixed  with  the  lime- 
stone. Third,  the  buildin;^,  after  partial  ruin,  was  reconstructed  as  a 
mosfpie  and  a  lari^e  niihralr  has  been  buiil  in  the  south  wall.  The 
entire  site  has  loni^  been  deserted,  and  the  synat^ot^ue  in  ])articular 
has  for  ages  been  a  linit>t()ne  quarry  for  the  neighboring  inhabitants. 


KL'INS  OK  SVNAGOGUt  AT  LM.M   LL  ^\MhU 


One  hour's  ride  due  west  of  Irbid.  along  the  track  of  an  ancient 
(j)robably  Roman)  road,  is  a  ruin  known  as  Khurbet  Umm  el  "^.Xmed, 
i.  e.,  the  ruin  of  the  mother  of  columns.  Yrom  considerable  distances 
on  all  .sides  a  great  limestone  "clustered"  column  can  be  seen 
standing  up  from  amidst  the  ruins  of  a  small  town  (.see  illustration). 
The  site  is  a  remarkable  one.  The  ruins  occupy  the  entire  surface 
of  an  outcro])  of  lava  occurring  in  the  middle  of  a  saddle  of  lime- 

'  That  is,  a  modification  of  Ionic  peculiar  to  these  Jewish  buil'linps. 
'  .\  niche  pointing  the  direction  to  Mecca. 


Il6  STUDIES  IN  GALILEE 

Stone  which  forms  the  eastern  boundary  of  the  great  plain  el  Bat- 
tauf,  known  to  Josephus  as  the  "Plain  of  Asochis."'  The  natural 
drainage  of  the  eastern  half  of  the  plain  is  toward  the  Lake  of 
Galilee;  but  this  being  obstructed  by  the  ridge,  much  of  it  becomes, 
after  the  winter's  rains,  an  impassable  bog,  and  in  prehistoric  times 
must  ha\e  been  a  shallow  lake.  It  is  probable  that  there  is  water 
close  under  the  surface  of  the  town  site;  for,  though  there  is  no 
visible  spring,  there  is  a  considerable  patch  of  water-loving  reeds  at 
the  highest  part  of  the  ruins.  The  site  has  long  been  deserted,  and 
we  have  no  record  of  its  ancient  name.  The  newly  excavated  syna- 
gogue remains  lie  to  the  southern  side  of  the  town,  and,  in  contrast 
to  the  rest  of  the  ruins,  are  of  limestone.  The  outline  of  the  original 
ground  plan  has  been  recovered,  the  plinth  course  is  entire,  and 
some  of  the  column  bases  are  in  their  original  situation.  A  good 
deal  of  the  masonry  has  been  transferred  to  a  neighboring  mediaeval 
building,  itself  now^  a  ruin.  Like  the  others  described,  this  building 
had  three  doorways  to  the  south;  over  the  main  portal  was  a  lintel 
with  two  lions  standing  to  the  right  and  left  of  a  vase,  each  with  his 
foot  on  what  is  apparently  the  head  or  skull  of  a  bull.  The  capitals 
of  the  columns  are  a  peculiar  Jewish  modification  of  Ionic  which 
occurs  also  in  the  northern  group  of  synagogues.  The  floor  was 
paved  with  the  white  mosaic  that  is  so  common  in  Roman  buildings 
in  Palestine. 

The  remaining  recognized  synagogue-ruins  form  a  group  to  the 
west,  northwest,  and  north  of  Safed.  They  are  all  near  together,  no 
member  of  the  group  being  more  than  six  hours'  ride  from  Tell  Hum. 
At  the  Maronite  (Christian)  village  of  Kefr  Ber^im,  on  the  highroad 
from  Safed  to  Tyre,  there  is  a  synagogue  ruin  of  great  importance. 
Some  appear  to  have  recognized  a  fanciful  connection  between  Ber'^im 
(which  is  apparently  a  proper  name)  and  Purim,  for  the  tomb  of 
Queen  Esther  used  for  long  to  be  pointed  out  here  and  the  Jew^s  were 
accustomed  to  assemble  here  to  read  the  book  of  Esther  during  the 
Feast  of  Purim.  The.  place  was  visited  as  a  sacred  spot  by  mediaeval 
Jews,  and  by  the  sixteenth  century  these  pilgrims  speak  of  the  syna- 
gogues as  in  ruin.  The  great  synagogue  occupies  a  position  at  very 
nearly  the  highest  part  of  the  modern  village.     The  ruin  is  of  special 

'  Josephus,  Vita,  §  41,  etc.;    see  p.  8. 


AXCii'A'i'  sNWc.oc.n.s  117 

importance  l)fcausr  it  contains  a  .i^nat  |)arl  of  the  southern  facade 
(sec  illustration),  thus  cnablin-;  us  to  ])icture  the  a|)i)earance  of  the 
corresi)on(linj^  i)art  in  tiie  other  ruins.  In  front  of  this  triple  entrance 
is  a  kind  of  i)orch.  with  a  sunk  court,  one  column  of  which  is  still 
in  position.  On  the  lintel  of  the  main  i)ortal  is  a  wreath  which  was 
ai)parentlv  supported  by  mythological  fij^urcs  (genii),  now  almost 
entirelv  defaced.  Over  this  door  was  an  arched  window,  and  above 
each  .side  entrance  rectangular  windows.     The   figures  which  once 


SOUTHEK.N   tAC^AUh  Ul-   Till::  bV.NAUUGUL  AT  KLIK   lU.K  IM     LIM'KK  (i AI.ILKK 

decoraled  these  windows  have  also  been  destroyed.  Under  the 
eastern  window  is  a  much  defaced  Hebrew  inscription.  The  internal 
plan  is  identical  with  those  of  the  buildings  already  described.  The 
area  was  a  few  years  back  occui)ied  by  some  hovels,  but  has  now- 
been  cleared. 

In  the  fields  to  the  north  of  the  village  there  was  till  recently  a 
very  striking  doorway  belonging  to  a  second  smaller  .synagogue.  It 
is  figured    in    the  Palcslinr  Exploralion  I-'idkI  .\frwoir.s'  and  when  I 

•  Memoirs,  Vol.  I,  j).  232. 


II{ 


STUDIES  IX  GALILEE 


first  visited  the  place  in  1893  it  was  standing.  In  1907  I  found 
it  gone,  and  learned  that  the  magnificent  sculptured  monoliths  of 
which  it  was  composed  had  been  thrown  down  and  cut  up  for 
building  stones.  Upon  the  lintel  was  a  wreath  and  two  much 
mutilated  lamb-fike  animals,  besides  a  somewhat  illegible  Hebrew 
inscription,  which,  according  to  Renan,  read:  "Peace  be  upon  this 
place  and  all  the  places  of  Israel.  Joseph  the  Levite  the  son  of  Levi 
put  up  this  lintel.     A  blessing  rest  upon  his  work."     This  smaller 


RUINS  OF  SYNAGOGUE  NEAR  EL  JISH-UPPER  GALILEE 

synagogue  had  only  one  doorway,  the  ground-plan  was  uncovered 
and  measured  by  the  Palestine  Exploration  Fund  explorers,  but  it 
is  today  entirely  covered  up. 

At  el  Jish,  the  ancient  Gischala  of  Josephus,  about  two  miles 
southeast  of  Kefr  Ber'^im,  there  are  scattered  remains  of  what  was 
once  apparently  a  synagogue  of  the  same  class  as  those  described. 
The  original  site  is  probably  covered  by  buildings  belonging  to  the 
modern  town.  About  a  mile  to  the  northeast  of  el  Jish,  on  the 
northern  bank  of  the  deep  Wady  esh  Shaghur,  are  the  remains  of 
a  building  which,  hke  the  smaller  synagogue  of  Kefr  Ber'^im,  had 


\\cii-\'!"  s\\\(;<)(;i  KS  I  K) 

only  oni'  door.  V:\n>  of  tin-  ouut  walls  havr  (|uit(.'  disappeared,  but 
the  door  foundations,  the  j)linth  course,  and  some  of  the  stvlobates 
remain  in  position  (sc-e  illustration).  On  the  under-surface  of  the 
threat  lintel  is  carved  an  eagle  with  garlanris.  A  worn  Hebrew 
inscrijUion  on  one  of  the  columns  reads:  "Joseph  bin  Xahuni  built 
this  arch.  May  a  blessing  fall  on  him."  The  synagogue  was  divided 
by  the  column  rows  into  three  aisles,  each  a  little  over  fifteen  feet 
wide. 

Xearly  three  miles  to  the  south  of  el  Jish  is  the  little  Mohammedan 
village  of  Meron,  a  place  sacred  to  the  Jews  on  account  of  the  great 
Talmudic  scholars  who,  according  to  tradition,  lie  there  buried. 
Here  is  the  very  curious  (traditional)  rock-tomb  of  Rabbi  Hillcl  and 
his  thirty-six  disciples,  that  of  Rabbi  Shammai,  and  of  Rabbi  Simeon 
ben  Jochai.  At  the  tomb  of  the  last  named  which,  with  that  of  his 
son.  is  included  in  a  modern  synagogue  building,  a  great  annual 
feast  of  two  days  is  held  every  spring,  to  which  come  Jews  from  all 
parts  of  the  world.  While  bonfires  arc  lighted  and  wild  revelry  is 
held  at  this  site  of  very  doubtful  authenticity,  the  genuine  Jewish 
relic— the  ruined  synagogue  on  the  hillside  to  the  north — stands 
deserted  and  entirely  neglected  by  Hebrew  sentiment;  the  Jews 
indeed  do  not  appear  to  recognize  at  all  that  this  is  a  work  of  their 
own  people.  The  ruins  occupy  a  prominent  situation  against  the 
eastern  Hank  of  a  small  rocky  knoll,  and  from  them  a  beautiful  view 
of  the  Lake  of  Galilee  is  visible.  Only  the  central  and  the  western 
smaller  portals  of  the  great  southern  facade  remain  (see  illustration). 
Upon  them  are  architrave  moldings  identical  with  those  at  Kefr 
Ber^im.  The  greater  part  of  the  synagogue  area  has  been  cut  out 
of  the  solid  rock,  and  upon  the  rock-Moor  may  still  be  traced  the 
original  position  of  the  columns.  The  whole  eastern  side  of  the 
building  has  fallen  down  and  for  some  reason,  evidently  the  deliberate 
act  of  man,  the  whole  internal  area  has  been  cleared  and  fragments 
of  columns,  bases,  stylobatcs,  and  capitals  strew  the  hillside  below. 
The  southern  fayade,  the  general  area-dimensions,  and  the  surviving 
fragments  show  that  this  was  a  synagogue  practically  identical  in 
style  with  that  at  Kefr  Ber*^im. 

.\  coujjle  of  hours'  ride — about  five  miles  on  the  map  direct — to 
the  northeast  of  Meron  is  Khurbet  Xebratain.     These  ruins  occuj)V 


I20 


STUDIES  IN  GALILEE 


a  couple  of  low  hills,  known  today  as  Nebra  and  Nebratain'  respec- 
tively, in  a  deep  valley  between  Safed  and  the  Jordan.  The  Upper 
Jordan  Valley  and  Hcrmon  are  visible  from  the  site.  The  position 
appears  somewhat  secluded,  but  it  may  be  seen  from  several  much 
frequented  paths  along  the  sides  of  the  surrounding  mountains. 
Both  hills  are  strewn  thick  with  Graeco-Roman  pottery,  and  have 
evidently  been  but  little  inhabited  since  that  period.  The  ancient 
name  is  unknown.     The  synagogue  of  Nebratain  occupies  the  lower 


SOUTHERN  FAQADE  OF  SYNAGOGUE  AT  MERON— UPPER  GALILEE 

northernmost  hill,  and  the  foundation  courses  have  now  been 
uncovered  by  the  German  archaeologists.  It  proves  to  be  one  of  the 
smaller  buildings,  dimensions  53  ft.,  7  in.  by  37  ft.,  9  in.,  with  a 
single,  southern,  door.  The  lintel  is  perfect  (see  illustration) ;  on  it 
is  a  leaf  pattern  in  the  middle  of  which  is  a  wreath  inclosing  a  seven- 
branched  candlestick,  while  below^  running  the  whole  length  of  the 
stone,  is  a  cryptic  Hebrew  inscription— the  letters  apparently  being  em- 
ployed rather  for  ornament  than  for  word-use.     Internally  there  were 

I  Nebra  means  "high  place"    and    Nebratain,  "two  high  places;"    the  names 
certainly  suggest  that  some  temple  or  synagogue  was  on  each  of  the  hills. 


ANCIKNT  SYNACOdlKS 


121 


two  rows  of  four  columns,  and  a  fifth  clustered  column  at  each 
northern  end.  On  the  side  of  one  of  the  stylobatcs  is  cut  the  fi,t!;ure  of 
vi  hare,  and  other  ornamental  fragments  include  the  figure  of  a  lion 
and  a  sculptured-vasc — cut  in  relief — out  of  which  ajdac-branch  with 
grapes  issues  on  each  side.  On  the  southerly  hill  Nebra  are  also 
remains  which  may  have  belonged  to  a  second  synagogue,  but  there 
is  not  enough  for  certainty.  The  lime  kiln  which  crowns  the  height 
tells  its  own  tale  of  recent  destruction. 


THE  INSCRIBED  LINTEL  AT  NEBKATAIN 


This  completes  the  list  of  synagogues  of  which  we  can  be  certain. 
Tell  Hum,  Kerazeh,  Irbid,  Umm  el  "^Amed,  Kefr  Ber*^im,  and  Meron 
all  contribute  something  to  the  materials  for  the  ideal  reconstruction 
of  the  large,  triple-door  synagogue  of  the  period;  at  el  Jish,  Kefr 
Ber^im,  and  Nebratain  we  have  ruins  of  very  similar  buildings  on  a 
smaller  scale.  In  the  village  of  el  Jish,  at  the  neighboring  villages 
of  Sifsaf  and  Sa=saS  as  well  as  at  Tiberias,  there  are  remains  which 
make  it  clear  that  similar  ruins  once  existed  there.  At  ed  Dikkeh, 
a  picturesque  spot  by  the  Jordan  just  before  it  enters  el  Bataihah, 
there  are  scattered  capitals  and  columns  and  stones  ornamenle<i  with 


122 


STUDIES  IX  GALILEE 


vines — all  of  black  basaltic  rock — which  appear  to  have  belonged  to 
a  Jewish  building.  The  German  archaeologists  traced  remains  of 
the  triple  doorway,  but  considered  the  building  was  a  synagogue  of 
a  later  period  than  those  described.  The  same  may  be  said  of  the 
ruins  at  Umm  el  Kanatir'  and  other  places  in  the  Jaulan  which  do 
not  concern  us  here. 

At  Keisiun,  about  three  miles  north  of  Nebratain,  are  the  ruins 
(see  illustration)   of  a  columnated  building  which  may  have  been 


RUINS  OF  SYNAGOGUE  AT  EL  KEISIUN 

that  of  a  synagogue,  particularly  as  there  are  Jewish  tombs  in  the 
immediate  neighborhood,  and  the  place  is  probably  the  Kasioun 
mentioned  in  the  Jewish  itineraries.  The  remains,  however,  present 
none  of  the  characteristic  features  of  the  group  of  buildings  just 
described.  This  is  important,  because  a  Greek  inscription  belonging 
to  the  time  of  Septimus  Severus,  which  was  found  here,  w^as  utilized 
by  Renan  in  assigning  a  date  in  the  second  century  a.d.  for  all  these 
buildings.  At  ^Alma,  six  miles  north  of  Safed,  ]\I.  Guerin  also  found 
the  ruins  of  a  synagogue,  among  them  a  Hntel  with  a  single  line  of 
I  See  Schumacher,  The  Jaulan,  pp.  260-65. 


WCIKN'I'  S\  NACOC.ri'S  123 

Hebrew  which  read  "(Peace  be)  Ujx)!!  this  i)hice  and  all  ilie  places 
of  Israel,"  Somewhat  doubtful  syna^oj^ue  remains  also  exist  at 
Khurbct  es  Semmuka  on  Mount  Carmel,  and  at  Khurbet  et  Taiyebeh 
near  Shefa  "^Amir. 

The  important  buildings  at  Kades,  Yarun,  and  Belat,  once 
thought  to  be  synagogues,  arc  certainly  not  Jewish,  and  probably 
were  all  i)agan  temples,  that  at  Yarun  having  been  at  a  later  period 
converted  into  a  Christian  basilica.  Each  of  these  three  buildings 
preserves  some  architectural  features  common  to  the  synagogue 
group.  At  Kades  we  tind  sculptured  vine  leaves  with  grape  clusters 
as  well  as  a  hue  eagle  upon  the  lintel;  at  Yarun  the  beautiful  carved 
palm  trees  with  dates  remind  us  much  of  similar  work  at  Tell  Hum; 
at  Belat,  among  the  sixteen  columns  on  this  lonely  height,  the  same 
double  clustered  columns  so  characteristic  of  the  synagogues  occur. 
Indeed,  this  may,  as  Kitchener  suggests,  be  the  clew  to  the  intro- 
duction of  this  special  feature  into  Jewish  architecture.  Belat  is  within 
sight  of  Tyre,  where  similar  gigantic  clustered  columns  of  red  granite 
(afterward  used  in  a  Christian  cathedral)  once  formed  a  part  of  the 
great  temple  of  Melcarth  who,  we  read,'  "was  worshi])ed  at  Tyre 
in  the  form  of  two  pillars." 

When  we  come  to  discuss  the  age  of  these  synagogue  ruins  we 
tind  a  good  deal  of  uncertainty.  We  shall  probably  all  echo  the 
words  of  one^  who  was  among  the  first  to  face  the  problem:  "One 
attaches  a  value  of  the  highest  order  to  these  buildings  which  we 
should  like  to  date  back  to  the  times  of  the  Herods  or  the  later  Macca- 
beans,  when  one  thinks  of  the  discussions  which  they  must  have 
heard  and  of  the  feet  which  must  have  walked  in  them."  Unfortu- 
nately our  wishes  cannot  influence  the  facts.  For  such  an  early  date 
as  (say)  Herod  the  Great  we  may  argue  from  the  somewhat  unwieldy 
character  of  the  masonry,  the  absence  of  mortar  and  the  occurrence 
of  animal,  mythological,  and  even  human  figures  in  the  decorations — 
this  last  would  ajjpear  to  be  an  imi)rol)able  occurrence  after  the  rise 
of  Talmudic  influence.  It  must  also  be  noted  that  with  but  one 
exception  the  buildings  are  constructed  looking  southward,  instead  of 
to  the  east  which  became  the  orthodox  direction  in  Talmuflic  times. 

'  Robertson  Smith,  Religion  of  lite  Semiies,  p.  208. 
'  Renan,  Mission  de  Phenicie,  p.  772. 


124  STUDIES  IN  GALILEE 

As  regards  Tell  Hum,  the  largest  and  probably  the  earliest  of  these 
buildings,  it  may  further  be  asked:  Is  it  possible  that  this  building 
could  have  been  erected  far  in  the  Christian  era  when,  as  was  men- 
tioned in  the  chapter  on  Capernaum,  this  place  became,  apparently 
in  either  the  apostolic  or  sub-apostohc  age,  a  stronghold  of  Alinim^ 
(heretics),  i.e..  Christians?  Lastly,  anticipating  what  will  be  said 
farther  on,  do  we  know  enough  of  the  architecture  of  Palestine  in 
the  first  Christian  century  to  be  able  to  dogmatize  as  to  what  could 
or  could  not  have  been  built  in  that  period?  Having  stated  these 
suggestions  I  must  now  record  the  opinion  of  those  whom  one  must 
consider  architectural  and  archaeological  authorities.  With  one 
voice,  though  often  on  differing  grounds,  they  ascribe  these  buildings 
to  the  second  or  even  the  third  century  in  the  Christian  era;  later 
than  this  they  cannot  be.  First,  Renan  dated  them  to  the  end  of  the 
second  century — a  conclusion  based  partly  upon  the  before-mentioned 
Greek  inscription  of  Keisiun ;  his  main  arguments,  however,  that  the 
style  belongs  to  the  second  Antonincs  and  that  such  buildings  are 
most  explicable  at  this  particular  period  of  Jewish  history,  are  valid 
today.  Lord  Kitchener'  bases  his  arguments  chiefly  on  historical 
grounds  and  dates  the  buildings  "  between  150  and  300  a.  d."  I  much 
doubt,  however,  whether  many  will  follow  him  in  his  hypothesis  that  the 
synagogues  "were  forced  upon  the  people  (Jews)  by  their  Roman 
rulers  at  a  time  when  they  were  completely  submissive  to  their  power 
and  that  directly  they  were  able  they  deserted  such  pagan  buildings 
as  disloyalty  to  their  religion."  Nor  is  it  necessary  to  conclude,  as 
he  does,  that  the  Jews  in  these  buildings  prayed  "with  their  backs 
to  Jerusalem;"  it  is  much  more  probable  that  they  faced  toward 
the  open  doors.  Professors  Kohl  and  Watzinger,  who  have  made  the 
later  Roman  architecture  of  Syria  their  special  study,  and  who  did 
such  epoch-making  work  at  Baalbec,  are  very  positive  on  archaeologi- 
cal grounds  alone  that  these  buildings  cannot  be  earlier  than  Baalbec, 
and  they  would  date  them  to  the  early  part  of  the  third  century  A.  d. 
In  the  absence  of  any  historical  mention  of  these  buildings  and 
of  any  contemporary  datable  inscription  within  them  we  are  thrown 
back  upon  historical  probability  and  the  interpretation  of  the  archi- 

'  See  p.  88. 
2  Loc.  cit. 


ANCIKNT  SVWC.OGUKS  125 

tccturr.  On  these  heads  the  opinion  of  spcciaHsts  concurs,  and 
unless  new  H^ht  is  thrown  on  the  subject,  to  their  o])ini{)n  we  must 
submit. 

A  report  has  been  current  in  Palestine  that  the  Jews  intend  to  pur- 
chase these  ruins.  It  is  sincerely  to  be  hoped  that  this  is  the  case. 
It  is  quite  extraordinary  how  lukewarm  is  the  interest  exhibited  by 
the  Jewish  people  in  these  venerable  and  i)recious  relics  of  their  race. 
Nothing  is  more  eloquent  on  this  head  than  the  very  scanty  refer- 
ence made  to  them  in  their  recent  monumental  work,  the  Jewish 
Encyclopedia.^  One  thing  is  certain,  that  unless  something  is  done 
speedily,  the  last  characteristic  fragments  will  disappear.  They  have 
been  melting  rapidly  away  all  through  the  centuries;  but  now  that 
their  last  foundations  are  uncovered,  the  Fellahin  will  carry  off  every 
available  fragment  for  both  building-stone  and  lime,  for  which  there 
is  an  increasing  demand  and  a  rising  market. 

'  Article  "Synagogue." 


GATJT.EK  ]\  Till"  TIMF  OF  CHRIST 


CHAPTER  VII 

(;.\tjij:k  i\  thk  timk  of  ciirist 

From  whatever  aspect  we  api)roach  the  study  of  Galilee,  our 
conclusions  have  the  most  vital  interest  in  so  far  as  they  cause  us  to 
picture  this  land  when  it  became  the  home  of  Him  who  is  pre-emi- 
nentlv  "The  Man  of  Galilee."  If  anything  can  enable  us  to  see 
what  He  saw,  to  be  influenced  as  He  must  have  been,  or  to  reconstruct 
in  our  imagination  the  human  life  of  Him  who  is  our  example  for  all 
the  ages,  then  our  efforts  are  not  in  vain.  We  may  also  recall  in  passing 
that  the  same  environment  profoundly  influenced  the  apostles  and 
many  members  of  the  infant  church. 

In  a  previous  article  we  dealt  with  the  subject  of  the  size  of  Galilee 
in  the  time  of  Christ.  It  was  a  small  land,  by  no  means  so  large  as 
the  natural  boundaries  would  suggest.  If  we  may  judge  from  the 
description  of  Josephus,'  the  southern  boundary  was,  for  practical 
purposes,  rather  the  northern  than  the  southern  edge  of  the  great 
plain.  The  region  described  as  "Lower  Galilee"  was  all  included, 
but  the  northern  boundary  traversed  the  niountain  region  on  a  line 
drawn  from  the  deep  Wady  Hindaj  (just  south  of  Kades)  on  the  east 
to  the  neighborhood  of  el  Jish,  and  thence  south  along  the  line  of 
Jebal  Jermak  till  these  mountains  abut  on  Lower  Galilee.  All 
north  and  west  of  this  line  was  Tyrian  territory  (as  was  Carmel  on  the 
southwest)  with  doubtless  scattered  Jewish  communities  here  and 
there,  like  that  we  read  of  as  existing  at  Caesarea  Philippi.  .\Uhough 
the  mountain  district  of  Safed  belonged  to  the  Galilee  of  Christ,  yet 
we  have  no  proof  from  the  gospels  that  he  ever  visited  this  district. 

The  most  striking  thing  about  this  region  is  the  way  it  was  hemmed 
in  on  all  sides  by  hostile  neighbors.  How  much  the  Jews  hated  these 
gentiles  may  be  seen  in  the  pages  of  Josephus  where  he  describes  how 
they  rose  and  massacred  them  all  over  the  land.     The  Tyrians,  as 

»  Xvloth  (now  Iksal)  is  mentioned  hy  Josephus  as  on  the  boundary,  and  (iaba 
(now  Sheikh  Ahrcik)  appears  to  have  been  a  kind  of  frontier  settlement  at  the  western 
end  of  the  plain. 

I2(; 


130  STUDIES  IN  GALILEE 

Josephus  calls  them — or,  as  they  are  called  in  the  New  Testament,' 
the  Syro-Phenicians — lay  in  contact  with  Jewish  Galilee  all  along  the 
northern  and  western  borders.  Jewish  villages  for  miles  must  have 
faced  villages  of  an  alien  race  and  faith,  and  doubtless  in  all  the 
larger  urban  resorts  the  followers  of  different  faiths  were  then,  as 
now,  in  little  semi-hostile  cliques.  Ever  present  on  the  eastern 
frontier  and  invading  the  lowland  in  places,  especially  along  the 
Jordan,  were  the  nomadic  Bedawin.  All  along  the  southern  frontier, 
Galilee  borders  by  an  ill-defined  boundary  upon  the  territory  of 
the  unfriendly  Samaritans.  Besides  the  Semitic  elements,  many 
Greeks  and  thoroughly  Graecized  Syrians  must  have  been  dis- 
tributed all  over  the  land.  Scythopolis  and  Gadara,  both  counted  to 
Galilee  in  a  loose  kind  of  way.  were  two  of  the  great  cities  of  the 
Decapolis;  here,  and  all  along  the  eastern  shores  of  the  lake,  Greek 
influence  was  widely  diffused.  At  Tiberias  was  a  newly  erected  city, 
pagan  and  predominantly  Roman.  In  all  the  political  machinery, 
in  military  organization  and  in  much  that  makes  for  civilization,  the 
Romans  were  much  in  evidence.  Only  perhaps  in  the  quieter  village 
life  of  such  secluded  places  as  Nazareth  were  Jewish  ideals  preserved 
more  pure. 

In  such  surroundings  the  Gahleans  appear  to  have  developed 
marked  characteristics  of  their  own.  It  must  be  remembered  that 
this  region  ceased  to  be  Israelitish  after  the  destruction  of  the  North- 
ern Kingdom,  and  even  as  late  as  Maccabean  times  the  settlers  there 
were  so  few  and  ill-protected  that  Simon  brought  them  all  away  for 
safety  during  his  struggles  with  the  heathen  d  Mace.  5:21).  It  is 
surmised  that  it  was  resettled  in  the  reign  of  Aristobulus  I.^  Between 
that  time  and  the  days  of  Christ  the  Jewish  inhabitants  of  Galilee 
must  have  flourished  exceedingly,  but  under  conditions  which  would 
encourage  independence  of  character,  resourcefulness  and  readiness 
to  defend  themselves  and  their  property.  Their  comparatively 
small  numbers,  and  their  being  surrounded  on  all  sides  by  hostile 
religions,  would  naturally  make  them  tenacious  of  their  own  rehgious 

'  Mark  7:26. 

2  If  the  suggestion  of  Schiirer  is  correct  that  the  Iturea  conquered  by  that  monarch 
was  GaUlee,  it  is  quite  probable  that  some  proportion  of  the  Galileans  were  prose- 
lytes from  the  non-Israelites  of  the  district,  but  there  is  no  reason  to  think  the  numbers 
from  this  source  were  large. 


c.Ai.iLiJ".  IN  iiii:  riMi;  oi"  ciiRisr  i.si 

customs;  while  tlu-ir  isolation  from  Ji-nisalcm  wouM,  one  might 
expect,  produce  some  dilTerences  in  relij^ious  customs  in  the  direction 
of  less  stress  on  minor  points  of  detail.  The  history  of  Josephus 
and  the  references  in  lalmudic  literature  to  the  Cialilean  Jews  agree 
in  showing  that  this  was  tiie  case. 

Tn  order  to  picture  the  district  it  is  necessary  to  form  some  idea  of 
the  density  of  the  j)opulalion.  This  has  been  a  subject  of  considera- 
ble controversy.  While  it  is  impossible  to  give  figures  of  any  cer- 
tainty, there  are  certain  points  which  may  guide  us  to  some  conclusion. 

There  is  no  question  whatever  that  the  population  was  considera- 
bly greater  than  that  of  today.  Galilee  was  a  country  of  rich  fertility 
and  very  highly  cultivated;'  even  now,  when  so  much  is  neglected, 
no  part  of  Palestine  is  more  productive.  Extensive  tracts  now  given 
over  entirely  to  brushwood  or  thistles  might  once  again  be  converted 
into  splendid  groves  of  olives  and  figs;  the  terracing  of  the  hills  has 
everywhere  fallen  into  ruins,  the  bare  rock  showing  over  miles  of 
gentle  slopes  which  once  were  vineyards  and  orchards.  How  well 
suited  is  the  land  for  vine-culture  is  show^n  by  the  results  obtained 
in  the  modern  Jewish  colonies  around  Safed.  Something  of  the 
ancient  fame'  of  Galilee  as  a  producer  of  olive  oil  is  still  main- 
tained by  the  magnificent  groves  of  what  the'natives  call  "Roman" 
olives  near  Rameh.  The  natural  resources  of  the  land  have  been 
previously  referred  to  more  in  detail.  But  while  allowing  that  the 
po[)ulation  was  considerably  greater  than  today,  it  is  difticult  to  accept 
the  numbers  given  by  Josephus.  In  his  works  it  is  stated'  that  in 
Galilee  there  were  204  cities  and  villages,  and  in  another  passage  he 
says:  "Moreover  the  cities  lie  here  very  thick;  and  the  very  many 
villages  arc  everywhere  so  full  of  people  by  the  richness  of  the  soil 
that  the  very  least  of  them  contain  above  15,000  inhabitants."-* 
The  late  Dr.  Merrill  in  his  well-known  book,  Galilee  in  the  Time  of 
Christ,''  argues  that  this  statement  may  be  literally  correct  and  that 
Galilee  actually  contained  a  population  of  upward  of  three  millions. 
To  the  great  majority  of  those  who  have  looked  into  the  question  the 
statements  of  Josephus  are,  as  they  stand,  manifestly  absurd.  The 
numbers  may  be  a  wilful  exaggeration,  which,  considering  they  were  so 

■  B.  J.,  Ill,  iii,  2.  3  Vita,  45. 

'  B.  y  ,  II.  xxi,  2;    Dcut.  33:34.  4  B. /.,  III.  iii,  2.  5  P.  62. 


132  STUDIES  IN  GALILEE 

easy  of  refutation,  seems  hardly  possible;  or  the  statement  about  the 
15,000  is  misplaced  by  an  error  in  copying  and  ought  to  apply  to  the 
cities  only.  But  in  any  case  the  statement,  as  it  stands,  is  a  pre- 
carious one  on  which  to  base  any  calculation  of  total  population. 

Galilee  today  is  full  of  villages.  One  of  1,500  inhabitants  is  con- 
sidered a  very  large  one  indeed,  and  some  of  the  villages  have  as  few 
as  50  adult  inhabitants.  The  mean  population  of  the  thirty-nine 
villages  of  the  Safed  district,  including  all  inhabited  centers  except 
Safed  itself,  is  280  or,  counting  in  the  young  children  not  included 
in  the  census,  about  500  inhabitants.  The  largest  towns  in  the  whole 
of  Galilee,  with  the  solitary  exception  of  Safed  (23,000  inhabitants) 
contain  a  smaller  population  than  15,000.  But  it  may  be  argued  that 
the  villages  of  those  days  were  very  much  larger.  This  is  not  the 
testimony  of  the  existing  ruins,  mostly  shapeless  heaps  of  stones 
scattered  all  over  the  land.  First,  it  may  be  noted  that  these  ruins 
are  most  plentiful  not  in  the  district  we  are  considering,  but  rather 
in  the  environs  of  Tyre.  Secondly,  it  is  evident  that  they  belong  to 
various  ages;  some  to  villages  occupied  before  New  Testament 
times,  and  not  in  the  days  of  Christ  (as  may  be  proved  by  the  pottery 
fragments);  and  others,  a  much  larger  number,  are  purely  Arab 
remains  from  the  centuries  just  before,  during  and  after  the  Crusades. 
It  has  never  been  systematically  done,  but  if  the  khurbets  (i.  e.,  the 
ruins)  of  Galilee  were  catalogued  according  to  their  antiquity,  I 
believe — ^judging  from  those  I  have  myself  examined— that  con- 
siderably less  than  half  would  show  evidence  of  belonging  to  the 
period  we  are  now  considering. 

When  we  come  to  the  extent  of  these  ruins  a  still  more  striking 
thing  is  noticeable.  Very  many  of  them  are  exceedingly  small, 
representing  indeed  little  but  the  ruined  walls  of  a  single  group  of 
buildings;  and  as  a  whole  most  of  them  cover  an  area  about  the  same 
as  that  covered  by  a  modern  village  of  medium  size.  They  are 
manifestly  not  the  ruins  of  considerable  towns.  Were  the  statements 
in- Josephus  correct,  we  should  find  enormous  areas  of  ruins  covering 
acres.  Such  is  the  case  in  a  few  places,  for  example  at  Beisan  (Scy- 
thopolis),  Tiberias  and  Suffuriah  (Sepphoris).  Further,  at  the  identi- 
fied sites  of  many  of  the  more  important  towns  we  see  an  area  of  ruin 
quite  consistent  with  the  remains  of  large  villages  or  small  towns. 


GAI.II.KI".  IN'  'rill,    lIMi:  OI    CIIRIS'I'  133 

Salami's,  IkTsahf  (if  at  Al)u  Shrh'^a).  Kclr  Anan.  ("ahiil,  Abcla.  Capt-r- 
naum,  Chorazin,  Hc-lhsaida  (Julias),  CJischala,  Simonias  (Scmunich), 
could  never  have  i)een  cities  in  the  sense  we  think  of  cities  today,  but 
from  their  frequent  mention  in  Joscphus,  these  appear  to  have  been 
some  of  the  more  important  places  in  Galilee,  and  ii  is  impossible  that 
there  were  many  sites  now  unoccupied  as  lar^e  as  iliesc. 

The  ))Oj)ulalion  of  the  whole,  as  flescribed  in  the  Galilee  volume 
of  tile  Palestine  Exploration  Memoirs,  was,  according  to  the 
estimates  made  at  the  time  of  the  survey,  103,000.  Today  these 
numbers  may  with  confidence  be  doubled.'  Allowing  for  young 
children  not  included  in  the  government  returns,  the  population  of 
this  large  area  of  1,341  square  miles,  with  its  312  towns  and  villages, 
may  with  safety  be  estimated  at  about  250,000.  This  district  is  very 
much  larger  than  that  described  as  Galilee  by  Josephus  which,  at  an 
outside  estimate,  could  not  have  included  more  than  900  square  miles. 
It  includes  the  whole  district  of  Tyre  and  all  the  coast  to  Carmel.  The 
denseness  of  the  population  by  the  above  estimates  works  out  at  186 
inhabitants  to  the  square  mile.  The  present  mean  population  of  the 
villages  is  about  500  and  that  of  the  towns  Haifa,  Akka,  Nazareth, 
Safed,  and  Tiberias  about  13,000.  I  think  the  utmost  we  could  allow 
is  that  the  average  population  of  the  smaller  towns  and  villages  was 
double  that  of  today,  or,  say,  1,000  inhabitants  to  each;  while  of  the 
four  really  great  cities  of  the  district,'  Sepphoris,  Tiberias,  Tarichaea, 
and  Scythopolis,  a  mean  of  50,000  to  each  would  I  suppose  be  as  much 
as  we  can  believe  probable  in  normal  times  (in  times  of  war  such 
towns  being  fortified  would,  of  course,  be  temporarily  much  more 

'  The  following  statistics  collected  from  the  Safed  district  make  me  believe  it  is  safe 
to  calculate  that  the  population  of  Galilee  has  more  than  doubled  in  the  last  twenty-five 
years.  The  present  population  from  the  official  figures  in  this  district  is  29,055  (5,594 
Jews,  2,131  Greek  Church  or  Greek  Catholics — chiefly  the  latter — 916  Maronite 
Christians,  1,536  Druzes,  and  19,878  Moslems).  These  numbers,  however,  do  not 
include  a  considerable  number  of  foreign  subjects,  especially  Jews,  who  mav  safely 
be  reckoned  as  at  least  5,000  more,  making  a  total  of  34,055  persons  distributed  over 
one  city,  Safed,  and  thirty-nine  small  towns  and  villages.  The  Palestine  Exploration 
Fund  estimate  for  the  same  area,  counting  up  all  the  towns  and  villages,  was  14,0^0, 
made  up  of  2,350  Christians,  1,600  Jews,  200  Druzes,  9,880  Moslems.  Here  again 
there  are  a  great  many  foreign  Jews  omitted  from  the  count — perhaps  1,500  is  not  too 
many,  making  the  total  i;.>;o  or  a  little  less  than  half  the  present  population. 

»  Vita.  27. 


134  STUDIES  IX  GALILEE 

crowded).  If  there  be  reckoned  200  small  towns  and  villages  with  a 
population  together  of  200,000,  and  the  four  great  cities  with  an  equal 
population  (200,000)  we  get  400,000  as  the  probable  population  of 
Galilee  in  the  time  of  Christ,  giving  a  density  of  population  of  about 
440  to  the  square  mile — six  times  the  density  of  population  by  the  old 
Palestine  Exploration  Fund  estimates,  and  two  and  one-half  times 
the  density  of  population  according  to  the  most  liberal  recent  esti- 
mates. It  is  inconceivable  that  the  Galilee  of  the  Jews  could  have 
included  a  population  larger  than  this,  and  it  is  probable  this  estimate 
errs  on  the  side  of  excess. 

Among  the  villages  of  Galilee,  Nazareth  appears  to  have  been  one 
of  the  smaller;  it  is  not  important  enough  in  size  or  situation  to  figure 
in  any  of  the  stirring  events  in  the  pages  of  Josephus,  although  its 
neighbor  Japha  is  frequently  mentioned.  Where  the  ancient  village 
stood  it  is  impossible  to  say — ^none  of  the  traditions  are  of  value;  but 
it  cannot  have  been  far  from  the  one  spring — the  "  Virgin's  fountain," 
and  must  have  nestled  somewhere  in  the  pretty  valley  shut  out  by  its 
circle  of  hills  from  the  rush  and  hurry  of  the  busy  life  which  pulsated 
on  all  its  sides.  Today  a  high  road  passes  through  Nazareth,  but 
this  is  clearly  not  a  natural  route  to  anywhere.  The  ancient  high 
roads  passed  from  west  to  east,  one  along  the  foot  of  the  Galilean  hills 
to  the  south,  and  another  through  Sepphoris  and  the  Battauf  to  the 
north.  It  is  the  sanctity  of  the  spot  alone  which  has  dragged  the 
road  out  of  its  natural  route  to  mount  the  steep  hills  of  Nazareth. 
It  was  long  the  fashion  to  insist  on  the  remoteness  of  the  early  home 
of  Jesus,  whilst  later  writers  have  rather  emphasized  opposite  condi- 
tions and  pictured  his  boyhood  as  within  the  busy  arena  of  politicians, 
soldiers,  merchants,  and  amid  all  the  movements  of  that  stirring 
time.  Surely  there  is  truth  in  both  aspects.  Nazareth  itself  was 
quietly  secluded,  shut  off  from  the  things  of  the  world.  It  was  not 
despised  for  any  demerit,  but  was  simply  insignificant  as  compared 
with  its  famous  neighbors. 

At  the  same  time,  it  was  in  the  center  of  a  district  of  teeming  and 
strenuous  life.  Within  sight  of  its  surrounding  hills  rushed  the  eager 
tide  of  civilization.  From  these  heights  the  eye  could  wander  over 
scene  after  scene  at  once  of  Israel's  ancient  history  and  of  present 
struggles.     Southward  spread  the  great  plain  with  its  memories  of 


136  STUDIES  IN  GALILEE 

Deborah  and  Barak,  of  Gideon  and  Elijah,  of  Ahab  and  Jezebel, 
while  beyond  rose  the  mountains  of  those  people  of  whom  we  hear  so 
much  in  the  gospels — the  despised  but  feared  Samaritans.  The  once 
sacred  shrine,  Mount  Tabor — in  Christ's  time  a  fortified  stronghold — 
was  visible  to  the  southeast ;  while  southwest  stretched  the  long  line  of 
Carmel,  from  the  lofty  eastern  end  where,  by  tradition,  Elijah  cham- 
pioned the  name  of  Jehovah  before  the  prophets  of  Baal  and  all  the 
hosts  of  backsliding  Israel,  to  the  further  end  which  dips  gently 
toward  the  misty  sea  to  form  the  southern  boundary  of  the  great  Bay 
of  Akka.  Here  landed  the  legions  of  arrogant  Rome,  the  ambitious 
soldier,  the  crafty  politician,  all  those  referred  to  in  the  sayings  of 
Jesus  as  seeking  "after  all  these  things."'  To  the  north  we  see,  fold 
after  fold,  the  hills  of  lower  Gahlee.  Almost  at  one's  feet,  but  an  hour's 
ride  away,  lay  Sepphoris,  the  scene  in  those  days  of  many  an  heroic 
deed,  then  soon  to  lose  (though  but  temporarily)  the  distinction  of 
being  the  capital  city  of  the  district  in  favor  of  the  godless  and  degraded 
Tiberias.  The  land  for  sixteen  miles  around  Sepphoris  is  reported  in 
the  Talmud  to  have  "flowed  with  milk  and  honey."  Behind  Sep- 
phoris lay  the  mountains  of  esh  Shaghur  and  the  loftier  crags  of 
Upper  Gahlee,  culminating  in  the  Jebal  Jermak  range.  To  the  north- 
east snowclad  Hermon  was  visible,  while  due  west  the  hills  of  the 
Nazareth  range  rose  higher  and  shut  off  the  view. 

Nazareth  was  thus  a  secluded  village  in  the  midst  of  a  Roman 
province  of  very  considerable  importance.  But  an  hour's  walk  to  the 
north  was  the  capital  and  a  great  high  road.  Less  than  an  hour  to 
the  south  was  another  great  road  along  which  chariots,  horsemen  and 
armies  hurried  backward  and  forward.  Within  a  very  few  miles 
were  the  important  villages  of  Japha,  Simonias,  Gebatha  and  Bethle- 
hem of  Zebulon,  It  was  surrounded  on  all  sides  by  a  busy,  worldly 
life,  with  alien  races,  languages  and  customs.  To  the  south  were  the 
Samaritans;  Carmel,  the  whole  coast  plain,  and  the  mountains  to  the 
northwest  belonged  to  the  Tyrians  (Syro-Phenicians)  enjoying  self- 
government,  while  Hermon  and  much  of  the  land  to  the  east  of  the 
lake  was  pagan,  Greek  or  Roman.  When  we  consider  that  the 
youthful  Jesus  viewed  these  alien  lands  perhaps  almost  daily  from  the 
lofty  hills  above  his  home,  what  added  interest  it  gives  to  his  refer- 

I  Matt.  6:32. 


r.AI.ILKK   I\  'I'lll'.    IIMI"  (M-  CIIRIS'I-  137 

cnccs  to  them:  "If  ilic  mighty  works  had  been  done  in  Tyre  and 
Sidon  which  have  been  (h)ne  in  yon,  they  had  a  <^reat  while  aj^o 
repented,  sillint^  in  (hist  and  ashes."' 

We  cannot  doubi  that  it  was  to  the  far-seen  land  across  the  Jordan, 
very  fascinating  to  those  viewing  it  from  the  west,  that  the  prodigal 
son  went  when  he  went  to  a  "far  country,"  and  there  fed  swine. 
\\"\[h  what  prejudice  must  the  people  of  Nazareth  have  looked  across 
the  great  i)lain  southward  to  the  hills  of  those  hereditary  enemies  of 
theirs,  and  yet  how  gentle  and  loving  was  this  Nazarcnc  in  all  his 
doings  with  them.-' 

Although  we  may  not  know  the  exact  spot  on  which  stood  the 
village  home  of  Jesus,  there  is  very  much  in  the  village  life,  in  the 
recurring  seasons  and  in  nature's  gracious  gifts  which  must  be  today 
as  they  were  in  the  days  when  this  was  his  earthly  home.  Thus 
everv  vear  the  wondrous  miracle  of  sj)ring  must  ha\e  developed 
itself  as  it  does  today,  and  from  the  long  and  hard  baked  earth  there 
emerged,  under  the  inlluence  of  the  gentle  showers  and  genial  sun- 
shine, that  marvelous  carpet  of  green  leaves  and  gorgeous  flowers 
which  makes  spring  in  Palestine  such  a  never-ending  surprise  and 
delight.  Only  those  who  have  lived  through  the  cold,  wet,  lifeless 
winter  in  Galilee  can  fully  realize  the  unthinkable  change  which 
comes  with  the  spring.  First  come  the  crocuses  on  the  level  fields 
and  the  cyclamen  in  the  rocky  crevices,  each  putting  forth  its  early 
flowers  from  the  bulbs  of  stored-up  nourishment;  then  the  anemones 
— scarlet,  purple,  white — the  gladioli,  the  purple  irises,  the  pink  and 
yellow  flaxes,  the  crumpled-leaved  cistus,  and  the  ubiquitous  primrose- 
tinted  Palestinian  scabious.  It  is  difficult  to  believe  that,  in  spite 
of  a  much  higher  cultivation,  these  beauties  of  nature  were  absent. 
Indeed,  it  is  surely  to  them  that  our  Lord  refers  when  he  says  "con- 
sider the  lilies  of  the  field  how  they  grow."'  A  little  later  in  the 
spring,  miles  of  hillside  and  valley  are  waving  with  grain,  and  the 
great  plain  in  particular  is  green  almost  from  end  to  end.  The  lig 
trees  now  shoot  forth  their  delicate  green  leaves  and  tiny  figs;  the 
pomegranates  deck  out  their  soberer  green  with  brilliant  scarlet 
blossoms;  the  foliage  of  the  grapes  appears— all  signs  that  the  winter 

'  Luke  10: 13. 

J  Luke  9: 56;   10:33;   17:16;  John  4:7-42.  3  Matt.  6:  28-30. 


138  STUDIES  IN  GALILEE 

is  past  and  the  summer  is  near  at  hand/  The  hilltops  are  covered 
by  the  flocks  of  sheep  and  goats,  while  all  the  valleys  re-echo  to  the 
shepherds'  pipes. 

As  summer  advances  and  the  green  blades  of  the  grain  arise, 
groups  of  women  and  girls  go  forth  and  root  out  the  weeds  and  tares^ 
from  among  the  ripening  wheat.  A  few  weeks  more  and  the 
camels,  loaded  high  with  wheat  and  barley,  pour  into  Nazareth 
from  the  plain,  until  the  village  threshing-floor  is  covered  thick  with 
piled  up  bundles.  Then  come  the  weeks  of  threshing  when  the 
horses,  donkeys,  and  cattle,  by  long  stamping,  reduce  the  heaps  to 
the  homogeneous  mass  of  broken  stalks  {tib?i)  and  grain.  With 
the  late  summer  breezes  come  the  long  afternoons  of  winnowing, 
when  the  light  and  worthless  chaff  is  blown  away  and  the  precious 
grain  is  gathered  in  an  ever  growing  pile  to  be  garnered — after 
washing  and  drying — into  the  granaries;  while  the  surplus  chaff  is 
burnt  up.^ 

And  now  the  families  go  out  into  the  fig  gardens  and  vineyards  and 
watch  the  ripening  fruit  until,  just  before  the  rains,  these  too  are 
gathered  in.  As  the  days  grow  shorter,  and  the  winds  cooler,  the 
stubble  is  burned  off  the  fields,  great  blazing  fires  being  visible  on  the 
hillsides  far  away.  At  last  the  winter's  rains  descend  and  the  sudden 
floods  sweep  down  the  long  dry  valley  bottom.^  At  this  time  the 
peasant  goes  out  with  his  plow  upon  his  shoulder  to  furrow  the  softened 
earth;  and  with  him  walks  the  sower,  sometimes  scattering  the  seeds 
broadcast  before  the  plow,  as  in  the  parable,^  at  other  times  fol- 
lowing behind  it  and  laying  it  in  the  newly  turned  furrows.  The 
gathering  of  brushwood  from  the  thickets  for  fuel  and  the  beating- 
down  of  the  olives  are  occupations  of  the  early  winter,  and  bring  the 
agricultural  year  to  a  close. 

Such  are  some  of  the  scenes  amid  which,  from  year  to  year,  Jesus 
moved.  The  man  who  planted  the  vineyard,^  the  shepherd  who 
went  to  seek  his  lost  sheep,'  the  husbandman  who  spared  for  one 
year  more   his   fruitless  fig  tree,^  the  woman  who  lost  her  piece  of 

I  Cant.  2:11;   Luke  21:30.  s  Matt.  13:3,  etc. 

*Cf.  Matt.  13:41-  6  Matt.  21:33,  etc 

3  Matt.  3:12;   Luke  3:17;   Isa.  5:24.  7  Luke  15:4. 

4  The  floods  of  the  parable,  Matt.  7:25.  »  Luke  13:6. 


GALILEK  IX  TIIK  TIMi:  <)I"  CHRIST  139 

moncv"  (possibly  from  lur  head-dress^) — may  not  these  anrl  such 
parables  have  been  founded  upon  actual  incidents  in  Jesus'  boyhood 
life  ?  All  His  teaching  bears  the  impress  of  this  village  life,  though 
occasionally  there  comes  also  an  echo  of  wider  interests,  as  in  the 
parables  of  the  marriage  of  the  king's  son,'  the  ten  talents,'  the 
unjust  steward, 5  and  the  king  going  to  war/' 

While  nature  [)rovi(led  Jesus  with  such  abumhmt  illustrations,  the 
climate  made  possible  a  mode  of  life  for  his  ministry  only  practicable 
in  such  a  land.  Days  of  unbroken  sunshine  and  nights  of  pleasant 
warmth  can  be  counted  upon  for  six  or  seven  months  every  year; 
it  is  possible,  without  fear  of  rain,  to  gather  crowds  on  the  hillsides 
day  and  night  all  over  the  district.  The  moonlight  nights  are  perfect 
for  rest  out  of  doors;  or,  if  the  days  are  oppressively  hot,  for  travel. 
Never  was  a  land  more  suited  for  itinerant  work  and  open-air  preach- 
ing. Even  in  midwinter  it  is  no  uncommon  thing  to  have  six  weeks 
of  sunshine  without  a  shower.  The  conditions  of  peasant  life  in  the 
east,  though  hard  in  many  ways,  leave  much  spare  time,  especially 
between  sowing  and  harvest,  for  leisure  and  thought;  food  is  cheap 
and  wants  are  few;  what  is  not  done  today  can  often  be  equally  well 
done  tomorrow.  Certainly  the  modern  Fellah  tmds  plenty  of  lime 
for  sitting  about,  particularly  in  the  winter,  though  working  night 
and  day  in  times  of  stress. 

Today,  as  then,  the  sick  are  everywhere — the  fever-stricken,  the 
blind  or  semi-blind,  the  epileptic  (now  as  then  supposed  to  be  "pos- 
sessed"), the  dumb  because  deaf,  the  palsied,  withered  hands  and 
feet,  and  the  leprous.  It  is  sufficient  for  it  to  be  known  in  any  vil- 
lage that  a  hakifu  is  there  for  every  lane  to  disgorge  just  such  a  crowd 
as  that  which,  ever  renewed,  followed  the  footsteps  of  our  Master, 
The  ashshur  (tax-farmer)  is  as  ubiquitous  and  as  hated  as  of  old.  It  is 
a  saying  in  Galilee  that  if  you  would  rid  yourself  of  ants  it  is  enough  to 
sprinkle  on  their  holes  some  of  the  earth  on  which  an  ashshur  has 
stood — contact  with  anything  so  vile  will  drive  even  the  ants  pre- 
cipitately away. 

>  Luke  15:8. 

'  This  is  a  popular  suRgcstion,  but  against   this  it  may   be  urRcd  that  ancient 
coins,  lx>red  for  sewing  to  the  headdress  like  modern  Turkish  coins,  are  not  found. 
3  Matt.  22:2.  •«  Matt.  25:14.  s  Luke  i6:  t-13.  ^i^uke  14:16. 


I40  STUDIES  IX  GALILEE 

There  is  indeed  much  in  the  Galilee  of  today  to  remind  us  of  that 
of  eighteen  hundred  years  ago.  The  Jews,  though  few  in  number, 
are  scattered  over  very  much  the  same  area  as  then;  they  are  very 
similar  in  religious  ideas;  "they  tithe  mint  and  anise  and  cummin," 
but  omit  the  weightier  matters.  They  are  oppressed  and  overtaxed 
by  a  power  whose  yoke  is  too  heavy  for  them  to  throw  off,  but  they 
cannot  forget  that  they  were  once  a  nation,  and  a  smoldering  idea  of 
nationalism  has  taken  possession  of  many.  They  are  divided  into 
at  least  two  parties:  (i)  those  who,  like  the  Pharisees  of  the  New 
Testament,  hold  firm  to  the  letter  of  the  law,  and  believe  little  in 
human  effort  in  any  direction  except  talmudic  study;  and  (2)  the 
newer  party,  chiefly  colonists,  to  whom  the  idea  of  nationalization 
appeals  rather  than  a  dreamy  religious  idealism  centered  around  a 
(to  them)  very  doubtful  interpretation  of  prophecy.  While  the  former 
are  frequently  lazy,  ill-developed  and  of  low  vitality,  the  latter  are 
usually  fine,  sturdy  men  and  women  who  are  raising  up  a  race  of 
indigenous  Israelites  on  the  soil  of  their  forefathers  of  a  type  long 
foreign  to  Palestine;  they  are  the  hope  of  Zionism. 

Galilee,  though  small  in  size  and  comparatively  unimportant  in 
the  world's  history,  was  for  a  few  short  years  honored  forever  above 
all  lands  by  having  been  the  dwelling-place  of  Him  who  is  the  Teacher 
for  all  who  would  know  the  road  to  the  Father,  the  Master  who  claims 
the  allegiance  of  all  hearts.  At  Nazareth  He  passed  His  obscure 
years  of  preparation  and  development.  On  the  shores  of  that  strange 
lake  more  than  six  hundred  feet  below  sea  level.  He  gathered  out — 
almost  exclusively  from  the  dwellers  in  the  district — those  who,  as 
His  earliest  followers,  are  destined  to  be  famous  while  this  world  lasts. 

Although  the  Christian  church  in  this  sense  took  rise  here,  it  can- 
not be  said  that  Christianity  has  ever  flourished  much  on  the  land  of 
its  birth.  The  early  Christian  centuries  witnessed  the  rise  in  Galilee 
of  a  predominant  and  powerful  rabbinism.  And  later,  when  Chris- 
tianity became  the  religion  of  the  district,  its  reign  was  short-lived, 
for  in  the  seventh  century  it  was  on  account  of  its  corrujjtion  swept 
away  by  the  conquering  armies  of  the  Arabian  prophet.  A  few 
centuries  later  a  militant,  though  essentially  false,  Christianity, 
for  a  few  brief  years  triumphant,  was  humbled  to  th.e  dust  at  the 
battle  of  Hattin,  between  Nazareth  and  the  Lake.     Since  that  time 


(^.ALii.Ki':  i\  riii:  timk  oi"  ciirist  m' 

a'night  of  ignorance  and  obscurity  has  descended  ui)on  the  land,  and 
even  the  name  of  Christ  has  been  hardly  known. 

The  (iahlee  of  the  ])resent  is  only  now  emerging  from  the  long 
blight  of  ignorance,  neglect,  and  internal  discord.  Much  of  the  land 
is  still  desolate,  its  fields  and  orchards  neglected,  its  i)eoi)le  ignorant 
of  any  vital  religion  and  most  of  all  of  the  teachings  of  Him  on  whose 
account  the  eyes  of  half  the  civilized  world  turn  in  imagination  to 
their  home.  Hut  on  all  sides  there  arc  signs  of  awakening.  The 
railwav  from  Haifa  to  Damascus,  which  traverses  the  plain  of  Esdrae- 
lon  and  touches  the  Lake  at  its  southern  end,  the  little  steamboat  on 
the  Lake,  the  rapidly  increasing  carriage  traffic,  the  jjrosperous 
German  and  Jewish  colonies  scattered  all  over  the  land,  all  carry 
promise  of  improvement  in  material  things.  Many  of  the  Fellahin 
arc  migrating  to  America;  of  these  a  good  proportion  will  return 
with  enlarged  ideas  and  a  certain  amount  of  capital.  The  immigrant 
Jews  from  all  lands,  especially  the  reformed  Jews,  connected  with  the 
Zionist  movement,  are  introducing  many  improvements  in  agriculture 
and  new  industries.  Schools  are  multiplying  all  over  the  land,  and 
many  scores  of  the  more  intelligent  youths  of  all  religions  are  now 
being  educated  in  the  tirst-class  Christian  educational  establishments 
of  Beirut  and  Jerusalem.  In  the  name  of  Jesus  of  Nazareth  once 
again  "the  blind  receive  their  sight,  the  lame  walk,  the  lepers  are 
cleansed,  the  deaf  hear,  and  the  poor  have  the  gospel  preached  to 
them."  It  is  in  His  name  that  all  over  the  land  healing  and  relief 
of  suffering  is  meted  out  to  Moslem,  Jew,  and  Christian  alike  by 
loving  hands.'  We  can  surely,  with  confidence,  believe  that  as  day 
bv  (lav  the  sun  rises  in  splendor  behind  the  dark  hills  of  Bashan  and 
floods  lake  and  valley  and  mountain  side,  each  return  brings  nearer 
the  dawn  of  a  better  era  for  this  land  when  once  again  He.  for  whose 
sake  the  land  is  ever  dear,  will  here  too  be  honored  above  all  others  in 
a  purer,  more  intelligent,  and  more  devoted  way  than  ever  in  the  past. 

'  Particularly  at  the  medical  missions  at  Haifa,  Akka,  Nazareth,  Tiberias,  and 
Safed. 


LIST  OF  AUTHORITIES  AM)   INDICES 


LIST  ()!•  Ai  riiok!  rii:s  and  indktos 


M  rn()Kirii-:s  crrKi) 


Arrulfus. 

liihle  Handbook. 

Biblical  World. 

Buhl. 

Burkhard. 

Chilo. 

Condor. 

Edersheim: 

Encyclopedia  Biblica. 

Eugesippus. 

Eusebius. 

Farhi. 

Gucrin. 

Heidet. 

Jerome. 

Josephus. 

Jeivish  Encyclopedia. 

Jru.'ish  Quarterly  Review. 

Kauffmann. 

Kitchener. 

Kohl. 

Macalister. 

MacGregor. 

Merill 


Millliciliingcn  der  deiilsclien  Orient-Gesell- 

schajt. 
Noe. 

Palestine  Exploration   Eund   Memoirs. 
Palestine    E.fploration    Eund    Quarterly 

Statement. 
Pliny. 

Quaresmius. 
Recovery  of  Jerusalem.  . 
Re  nan. 
Robinson. 
Schumacher. 
Schiirer. 
Schwarz. 

Scriptures  of  the  Old  and  New  Testament. 
Smith,  Dr.  George  Adam. 
Smith,  Dr.  William  Robertson. 
Stevens. 

Talmud  and  Talmudic  Literature. 
Theodosius. 
Tristram. 
Watzinger. 
Willibald. 
Wilson. 


For  references  see  General  and  Special  Indices. 


GF.XKRAI.   IXDKX 


9)' 
note. 


Abela,  30,  55,  i33-  _ 

Abel-beth-Maacah  (Tell  Abel),  22. 
Abu  buz,  46. 

Abu  Shety-a  (Bersabe?),  133. 
.AbuKisher  {Kisheveh),  46. 
Abu  Shusheh,    55,    56,    58,     so;      Mill- 
stream,  56,  57,  59. 
.\chabari  (.\kbara),   13,  and 
,\grippa.     See  Herod  .\gripi)a  II. 
Ahab,  136. 
'.\in  el  ^.Vmud,  56. 
<:.\in  el  Barideh,  84. 
t.\in  el  Madauwcreh      (Round     Spring), 

57.  50.  81.  84- 
cAin  cl  Mellahah,  25,  37,  38,  39. 
^Ain  Jinn,  56. 
«Ain  et  Musmar,  106  note. 
cAin  ct  Tabjl,  55. 


-.\iii  cl  Tell,  106  note. 

^\in  et  Tinch  (Spring    of    the    Fig),    6r, 

64,  81. 
'Ain  Evyub  (Birket  Sheikh  <:Ali  ed  Dhaher 

(Job's  Fountain),  64,  66,  81,  84. 
<:.\in  cz  Zeitun,  13,   17. 
<:.'\in  Feshkhah,  48,  81,  note. 
<^.\in  Fuwwir,  20. 
cAin  Ibl,  18. 
<:.\in  Rubudiyeh,  55. 
■^.Xin  Surar,    55. 

Akbara  (Achabari),  13,  and  note. 
Akka,  9,  II,  50.08,  133;   Bayof,  15,  40. 
136;  medical  mission  at,  141  note;  plain 
of,  4,  5,  74;   porl  of'  "• 
.Mburnus  sitlah,  47. 
Alexandria,  81. 
.Algerians.  17. 

"^Alma,  .Mgerian  settlement,  16,  17;  syna- 
gogue at,  122. 


145 


146 


STUDIES  IX  GALILEE 


cAlma,  Circassian  settlement,    17. 
cAlma,  plateau  of,  5,   12. 
America,  emigration  to,  from  Syria,  141. 
cAmud  River,   57. 
Antonines,    124. 
Aphek    (F!k),   31. 

Arbela  (Irbid), 30,  54;  Caveof,  55,  and  note. 
Arculfus,    Bishop,    83;     Capernaum    de- 
scribed by,   85. 
Ard  el  Kheit  25  note,  26. 
Aristobulus  I,   130,  and  note. 
Armenia,  61. 
<^Arrabeh,  plain  of,  9. 
Asher,  3. 

AshshAr  {tax-farmer),  36,  139. 
Asochis,  Plain  of  (el  Battauf  ?),  8,  116. 

B 

Baal,  prophets  of,   136. 

Baalbec,  124. 

Bahr  Chit  (Lake  Huleh),  25  note. 

Banias     (Caesarea     Philippi,    Neronias, 

Banias,   17,   20,   22,  67,  98;    source  of 

the  Jordan,  20,  22. 
Baptist     Quarterly    Review,     article     on 

"Gennesaret,"   51  note. 
Barak,  136. 
Barbiis  canis,  47. 
Barbus  Longiceps,  46. 
Barbiit    (coracinus   or   cattish),     25,    45, 

46,  81,  and  note,  86. 
Bashan,  hills  of,  58,  141. 
Bataihah.     See  el  Bataiah. 
Battauf,  Plain  of.     See  el  Battauf. 
Beatitudes,  Mount  of  the,  83,  and  note, 

84  note,  86,  87. 
Bedawin,  24,  58,  73,  84,  99,  loi,  103. 
Beirut,  141. 

Beisan   (Scythopolis),    11,    59,    132,    i33- 
Beit  Jinn,  Druze  village,  15,  17. 
Beit  Lahum.     See  Bethlehem  of  Zebulon. 
Belat  hill,  14;  clustered  columns  on,  123. 
Belus  River  (Nahr  Na'^mein),  4,  9. 
Benit,  5. 
Beriah,  13. 

Berim,  supposed  derivation  of,  116. 
Bersabe  (Abu  Sheb^a?),  133. 
Bethlehem    (Beit    Lahum)    of    Zebulon, 

7.  136- 
Bethmaus,  30,  and  note. 
Bethsaida  (probably et  Tell), bo,  38,  65,66, 

71,  82,  85,  89,  93,  and  note,  95,  97,  102, 

104. 
Betzammin   (probably   Sahel   el   .\hma), 

5,  7,  8,  and  note. 
Biblical  World:  April,  1908,  p.  247/.,  in 

note,  112  note;   June,  1908,  407. 
Binny.  46. 
Bint   Umm    Jebail.      Metaweleh   village, 

18;    weekly  market  at,  15. 


Birket  Sheikh  ^Ali  edh  Dhaher  ("^Ain 
Eyyub  Job's  Fountain),  64,  66,  67, 
81,  84. 

Borocardus.     See    Burkhard. 

Boundaries  of  Galilee,  3,  4,  7,  20,  26,  129. 

Buhl,  Geographic  des  alien  Palestina, 
95  note. 

Burkhard  (Borocardus),  86. 

c 

Cabul,  133. 

Caesarea  Philippi  (Banias),  22,  94,  95, 
129;    name,  origin  of,  22. 

Cana  of  Galilee  (Kefr  Kenna  ?  Khur- 
bet  Kana?),  8. 

Capernaum  (Capharnaum,  Capharnome, 
Kapher  Nakhum,  Kephir  Tankhum, 
Tell  Hum),  66,  71-89,  93,  and  note; 
94,  95,  III  note,  112  note,  124,  133; 
Christ's  "own  city,"  51,  71;  foun- 
tain at,  86,  89;  Roman  necropolis  at, 
loi;  synagogue,  Bible  references  to,  77. 

Capher  {Kefer),  meaning  of  word,  82. 

Capoeta  damascina,  47. 

Capoeta  fratercula,  47. 

Capoeta  socialis,  47. 

Capoeta  Syriaca,  47. 

Carmel,  Mount,  7,  15,  123,  129,  133, 
136. 

Carps  {Cyprinidae),  47. 

Cepher  Tankhum  (Kephir  Nakhum), 
names  given  to  Capernaum,  73. 

Chateau  Neuf  (Kusr  ^Atra),  27. 

Chesulloth  (Iksal,  Xaloth,  Xyloth),  7, 
129  note. 

Chilo,  Isaac,  88,  and  note. 

Chinneroth,   identified  with  Gennesaret, 

51. 

Chorazin  (Kerazeh,  Khurbet  Kerazeh), 
68,  71,  85,  89,  93,  and  note,  loi,  133. 

Christians,  18,  88,  133,  141;  Greeks,  17, 
130,  133  note;   Latins,  31,  66. 

Chromidae,  43-45- 

Chrystal,  Professor,  30  note. 

Circassians,  18. 

Clarias  Macrocanthus,  see  Barbiit. 

Cleopatra,  22. 

Climate  of  Galilee,  52,  139. 

Colonies  in  GaUlee:  Algerian,  17;  Cir- 
cassian, 17;  German,  141;  Jewish, 
17,  26,  131,  140,  141;  Kurdish,  17,  26; 
Turkoman,  17. 

Conder,  Bible  Handbook,  88  note. 

Coracinus  {barbut,  catfish),  25,  45,  46,  81, 
and  note,  86. 

Crusades,  8,  27,  132,  140. 

D 

Damascus,  10,  15,  28,  39,  59,  104,  141- 
Damascus-Haifa  Railway,  66  note,  141. 


INDICKS 


M7 


Damascus  Road,  lo,  ii,  71,  98. 

Dan,  22. 

Daphne  (Dan?     Tell  cl  Kadi  ?),  22. 

Dead  Sea,  4S,  Si  note. 

Deborah,  136. 

DccajH)lis,  cities  of  the,  130. 

Dcir  Hannah,  5,  9. 

Deishun,  17. 

Deutsche  Orient-Gesellschaft,   74,   75. 

Dew  (tal)  of  Hermon,  i6,  17. 

Dibl.  18. 

Druzes,  15,  17,  133  note. 


ed  Dahareyeh,  13. 

ed  Deir,  14. 

ed  Dikkeh,  98,  106,  121;    synagogue  at, 

122. 
Eygpt,   59.   61. 
el  "^Araj,  95,  98,  loi,  102,  104. 
el  Bataihah,   27,   28,  66,  79,  85,   94,   95, 

103,   and   note,    104,   and  note,  121. 
el  Battauf  (Plain  of  Asodus),  5,  8,  9,  116, 

and  note,  134. 
el  Bukei^a,  15,  17. 
el  Ghor.     See  Jordan  Valley, 
el  Ghuweir.     See   Gennesaret,   Plain  of. 
el  Huleh.     See  Huleh,  Lake, 
el  Jish  (Gischala),  13,  16,  74,  119,  121, 

129,  133;   Birket,  13;   synagogue,  118, 

119,  121;   volcanic  plateau,  5,  12. 
Elijah,  136. 

el  Jebal  ("the  Mountain"),  15. 
el  Kasy,  14. 
el  Kerak.     See  Kerak. 
el  Khalisah,  24. 

el  Leddan  River.     See  Nahr  el  Leddan. 
el  Mejdel.     See  Mejdel. 
el  Mes^adiyeh,    suggested   site   of    Beth- 

saida,  95,  97. 
el  Mughar,    9. 
el  Munja,  S3,  and  note,  87. 
el  <:Oreimeh,  suggested  site  of  Capernaum, 

5,  73  note,  84;    aqueduct,  64;   German 

Catholic  hospice,  66;    Tell  on,  62,  63, 

68,  S3. 
el  Tabighah.     See  Tabigah. 
el  Teleil  (Thella  ?),   26,  and  note. 
Emmaus   (Hammath),   30. 
Encyclopedia  Biblica,  &i,  and  note;  article 

on  "Gerasenes,"  2iZ  note. 
England,  4. 
Erzerum,  61. 
Esdraelon,  Plain  of  (Merj  ibn  '^.-Vmr),  3, 

5,  6,  1 1,  141. 

es  Seraakh,  28,  66. 

esh  ShaghOr  (Shughflr)  mountain  range, 

6,  0,  10,  136. 
Esther,  Queen,  116. 


et  Tell  (probable  site  of  Bcthsaida),  30, 
65,  85,  93,  97,  lor,  104,  and  note; 
description  of,  102,  103,  104. 

Eucalyptus  trees,  26,  66,  and  note. 

Eugesippus  (Hcgcsippus),  85. 

Euro{>e,  4. 

Eusebius,  93. 

cz  Zubaid  (Jessod  Hamaalah;  Jewish 
colony,  26,  38. 


Fadl  Bedawin,  24. 
Farhi,  Rabbi  Isaac,  S8. 
Farradeh  village  and  spring,  9,    10,   55. 
"Fellah"    (peasant),    life    of,    138,    139. 
Fertility  of  Galilee,  5,  9,  17,  66,  131. 
Fik  (Aphek),  31.  ' 

Fish  and  Fishing,  25,  37-48,  65,  67,  104. 
Flowers  of  Galilee,  58,  73,  137,  138. 
Franciscans,   74. 


Gaba  (Geba),  probably  Sheikh  .\breik, 
7,  129  note. 

Gabara  (Khurbet  Kabra),  11,  and  note. 

Gabatha  (Jebata),  7. 

Gadara  (M^Keis),   ir   note,  31,  79,   130. 

Galilee,  passim;  boundaries,  3,  4,  7, 
20,  26,  129;  eastern,  5;  fertility  of, 
5,  9,  17,  66,  131. 

— Lake  of  (Lake  of  Gennesaret,  Lake  of 
Tiberias,  Sea  of  Galilee):  5,  15,  37-42, 
51,  52,  71,  83,  86  note,  93,  98,  loo,  ii6, 
119,  140,  141;  description  of,  28,  and 
note,  30;  fishing  in,  37,  38,  39,  40.  42, 
67,   104;    level  of,  30,  and  note. 

— Lower:  4,  5-1  r,  15,  17,  20,  129, 
136;  historical  references  to,  10  physi- 
cal features,  5-1 1;  religious  sects  in, 
17;  roads,  10,  11;  vegetation,  9,  10; 
water  supply  10. 

— Name,  derivation  of,  3. 

— Physical  features,  4,  5. 

— Population,  17,  131,  and  notes,  132, 
133,  and  note,  134. 

— Size  in  time  of  Christ,  129. 

— Upper:  5,  11-20,  136;  physical  feat- 
ures, 12,  13;  products,  17;  religious 
sects  in,  17;    roads,  15;    water  supply, 

13.  15- 
— "Valley"  (el  Ghor),  5,  20. 
— Western:  Bedawin  flocks  in,  24;  water 

supply,  24,  25,  26. 
Gamala,  ^i,  and  note. 
Gaulanitis,  93,  and  note. 
Geba  (Gaba,  Sheikh  .Vbrcik),  7,  129  note. 
Gcbatha,  136. 
Gennesaret,    Plain    of    (Chinneroth,    el 

Ghuweir,  Gennesar),  5,  9,  11,  13,  20, 


148 


STUDIES  IN  GALILEE 


28,  51-68,  71,  81,  82,  85,  88,  and  note, 
89,  103,  114;  Josephus'  description  of, 
52;  name,  derivation  of,  51;  products, 
58;  water  supply  and  irrigation,  53, 
54j  5S>  57>  61;  Lake  of.  See  Galilee, 
Lake  of. 

Gerasa  (Kersa,  Kerse),  2i3j  and  note. 

Gergesa,  ^t,  note. 

Ghawarineh   Bedawin,    24. 

Ghor,  the  (el).     See  Jordan  Valley. 

Ghor,  the  little  (el  Ghuweir).  See  Gen- 
nesaret.  Plain  of. 

Gideon,  136. 

Ginea  (Jenin),  7,  and  note. 

Gischala.     See  el  Jish. 

Greek  Church,  130,  133  note;  Catholic, 
17;    orthodox,   17. 

Greeks,  136. 

Groves,  Superstitions  re,  25. 

Guerin,  122;   Galilee,  109  note, 

H 

Hafafi,  46,  47. 

Haifa,  133;   medical  mission  at,  141  note. 

Haifa-Damascus  Railway,  66  note,   141. 

Hakhn  (physician),  139. 

Hammam  Eyyub   (Job's  bath),   67,  and 

note. 
Hammath  (Emmaus),  30. 
Harraweh  (Hazor?),  25,  and  note. 
Hasbani,  22. 
Hasbayeh,  20. 

"Hasel"  (storehouse  for  grain),  loi. 
Hattin,  11,  28,  58;     battle  of   (1187),  8, 

140;  horns  of  (suggested  site  of  giving 

of  the  Beatitudes),  5,  7,  8,  53,  59,  86, 

87;    plain  of,    5;    plateau  of,    20,    53; 

spring  of,  10;    village  of,  53,  54. 
Hauran,  61. 

Hazor  (Harraweh?),  25,  and  note. 
Hegesippus     (Eugesippus),  85. 
Heidet:    Das  heilige  Land   (1896),  347- 

58,  84   note. 
Hejaz  Railway,  66  note. 
Hemichromis  Sacra,  44. 
Heptapegon.     See  Tabighah. 
Hermon,   Mount,    15,   16,   and  note,   59, 

120,  136;   dew  of,  16. 
Hermon,  the  Little  (Jebel  Dahi),  6. 
Herod  Agrippa  II,  22,  27  note,  93,  104. 
Herod  Antipas,  the  Tetrarch,  30,  76,  94. 
Herod  the  Great,  7,  20,  22,  27,  55,  123. 
Herod  Philip,   22,  93,  94,  and  note,  97. 
Hieromax  (Yarmuk?),  31. 
Hillel,  Rabbi,  tomb  of,  at  Meron,   119. 
Hippos  (Susitha,  Susiyeh),  31,  and  notes, 

79- 
Horem,  83,  and  note. 
Huleh,  Lake  (Bahr  Chit,  Lake  Samacho- 

nites,   Ulatha,   Waters  of   Merom),  5, 


13,  24,  and  note,  25,  and  note,  26,  27, 

42,  98,  103  note. 
Huleh  Plain,  5,  27. 
Hunin,  15. 

I 

Ibrahim,   Sultan,    wely  of,    loi. 

Ijon  (Merj  <:.\yun),  20,  22. 

Iksal  (Chesulloth,  Xaloth,  Xyloth),  7, 

129  note. 

Irbid  (Arbela),   11,  30,  54,  74,  88  note, 

115;    .Synagogue,  114,  115,  121. 
Israel,  Northern  Kingdom  of,  130. 
Issachar,  i. 
Iturea,   suggested  identity  with   Galilee, 

130  note. 


Japha,  135,  136. 

Jarf,  40,  41,  42. 

Jaulan,  the,  5,  10,  15,  59,  122. 

Ja^uneh  (Rosh  Pinna),   17. 

Jebata.     See  Gabatha. 

Jebal  Adather,  12. 

Jebalat  el  "^Arus,  12,  56,  59. 

Jebal  Dahi  (the  little  Hermon),  6. 

Jebal  el  Bellaneh,  56,  59. 

Jebal  es  Sih,   7. 

Jebal  Haidar,  6. 

Jebal  Hazzur,  59. 

Jebal  Hunin,  12. 

Jebal  Jermak,  highest  point  in  Palestine, 
12,  13,  15,  56,  129,  136. 

Jebal  Kan^an,  6,  12,  59. 

Jebal  Tor'^an,  8. 

Jenin  (Ginea),  7,  and  note. 

Jermak  River,  4. 

Jerome,  83,  93,  94;   Jes.,  g,  l,  93  note. 

Jerusalem,  11,  67,  81,  note,  iii,  124,  131, 
141;   Temple  at,  77. 

Jessod  Hamaalah  (ez  Zubaid),  Jewish 
colony,   26,  37  note. 

Jesus  Christ,  30,  33,  51,  76,  82,  86,  93,  94, 
132,  136,  137,  141;  Capernaum  the 
center  of  his  Galilean  work,  71;  "Man 
of  Galilee,"  129;  parables  drawn  from 
daily  life,  138,  139. 

Jews,  3,  17,  30,  33,  133  note,  141;  Gali- 
lean, characteristics  of,  130,  131;  reli- 
gious ideas,  139. 

Jewish  colonies  in  Galilee,  17,  26,  131, 
140,    141. 

Jewish  emblems,  109. 

Jewish  Encyclopedia,  Art.  "Synagogue," 
125,  and  note. 

Jewish  Quarterly  Review,  1897,  109  note. 

Jezabel,  136. 

Jisr  Benat  Wkub,  10,  27,  59. 


INDICKS 


1-40 


Job's  Fountain  (<^Ain  Kvyub,  Hiikri 
Sheikh  'AU  cd  Dhahcr),  64.  66,  67,  Si, 
84.     Jonathan,  51. 

Jordan  River,  3,  5,  0,  7,  10,  11,  20,  22,  27, 
28,  21),  30,  31,  37,  44.  47.  51.  50,  61,  65, 
66,  71,  71),  85,  86,  87,  ()3,  and  note,  ()4, 
<)5.  <;7,  <)i>,  loi,  102,  103,  104,  106,  and 
note,  120,  121,  130;  artifuial  lowering 
of  bed,  24,  anil  note;  channel,  20,  2(>. 
27;  fords,  28,  85,  g8,  104,  io6;  rate  of 
fail,  27,  28;   sources,  20,  22,  24,  67. 

Jordan  Valley  (Ghor),  4,  5,  6,  7,  11,  13, 
28,  103  note,  106;    upper,  20,  24,  120. 

Joseph  ben  Nahuni,  iig. 

Joseph,  Pit  of  (Jubl)  Vusuf),  98. 

Joseph  the  Lcvite,   118. 

Josephus,  8,  26,  28,  51,  67,  68,  79,  81, 
86,  94,  118,  129,  and  ttote,  131,  and 
notes,  132,  133,  and  note,  134.  For 
references  see  Special  Index  I. 

Jotapala  (Tell  Jefat),  9,  and  note. 

Jubb  Vusuf  (Joseph's  Pit)  Khan,  10, 
II,  59,  61,  98. 

Judea,    10,   17. 

Julias.     See  Bethsaida. 

Julias,  daughter  of  Caesar,  93,  94. 


Kades  (Kadesh  Naphtali),  12,  129.   Carv- 
ing on  ruins  at,  133. 
Kady,  meaning  of  word,  23. 
Kafior  Raphireh,  88. 
Kapher    Xakhum     (Kepher    Tankhum, 

Kephir     Tankhumin),     derivation    of 

name,  88  note,  89. 
Kasimiyeh  (Litany)  River,  3,  13. 
Kasioun.     See  Keisiun. 
KautTmann,    ".\rt    in    the    Synagogue," 

Je-u-isli    Quarterly   Rexnew,    i8gj,    109 

note. 
Kedes,  plain  of,  5. 
Kedesh,  3. 

Kedron  Valley,  Si  note. 
Kefr  .\nan,  9,  88  note,   133. 
Kefr  Ber<im,   14,   16,   18,  74,   112  note, 

118,    119;     synagogues   at,    described, 

116,  117,  iiS,  121. 
Kefr  Kenna  (Cana  of  Galilee?),  7,  8. 
Keisiun  (Kasioun),  building   with  Greek 

insirijnion   at,    122,    124. 
Kepher  Tankhum.    See  Kapher  Nakhum. 
Kerak  (Tarichaea),  29,  31. 
Kerazeh     (Khurbet     Kerazeh),     site     of 

Chorazin,    11,  30,  74,  85,  93,  97,  99, 

loi;     Roman    road    near,    100,    loi; 

synagogue,  99,  and  note,  100,  11 1,  ii4i 

121. 
Kersa  (Gerasa,  Kurse),  33,  and  note. 
Kersin,  46. 


Khaliet  es  Semak,  64,  65. 

Khan  Jubb  Vusuf,  10,  11,  59,  61,  98. 

Khan  (Khurbet)  Minia  (Minich,  Minych), 

suggeste<l   site  of  Cai)ernaum,    11,    57, 

58,  5(>,  61,  62,  64,  65,  66,  68,  78    note, 

82,  83,  84,  86,  87,  88  note,  89. 
Khan  TujjAr,  11,  59. 
Kharambeh  Ik-dawin,  58. 
Khurbet,  meaning  of  word,  73,  132. 
Khurbet  .^bu  Sheb'^a,  11. 
Khurbet  el  ^Oreimeh,  suggested    site    of 

Capernaum.     See  el  '^Orcimch. 
Khurbet  es  Salameh,  (>,  85. 
Kluirl)ct  es  Semmuka,  123. 
Khurbet  el  Taiyebeh,  123. 
Khurbet  Kabra  ((iabara),   11,  and  note. 
Khurbet  Kana  (Cana  of  Galilee  ?),  8. 
Khurbet  Kerazeh.     See  Kerazeh. 
Khurbet  Minia.     See    Khan    Minia. 
Khurbet  Xcbratain.     See   Nebratain. 
Khurbet  Umm  el '^.\med,  115;  synagogue, 

116. 
Khurt'ish,  15  note. 
Kishon  River,  4,  7. 
Kitchener,    Lord.    123,     124,    and    note; 

Palestine  Exploration   Fund   .Memoirs, 

contributions  to,   109  note. 
Kohl,  Professor,  74,  75,  99,  in  note,  123, 

124;       Mittheilungen     der     deutschen 

Orienl-Gesellschaft,  contribution  to,  109 

note. 
Kul<:at  el  Husn,   t,t,. 

KuKat  el  Kurein   (Montfort   Castle),    14. 
Kul^al  ibn  Ma<'an,   55. 
Kurds,  17,  61,  26. 
Kurn  Hattin,  8. 

Kurse  (Gerasa,  Kersa),  33,  and  note. 
Kusr  <:Atra  (Chateau  Neuf),  27. 


Lava.     See  Volcanic  districts. 

Lebanon,   15,  39,  98. 

LejjOn,  II. 

Levi,  118. 

Litany  (Kasimiyeh)  River,  3,  13. 

Lubieh,   7. 

M 

Macalister,  R.  .\.  Stewart,  61,  63. 
Maccabees,  the,  123,  130. 
MacGregor,  "Rob    Roy,"    24,    26,    and 
note;    Rob  Roy  on  the  Jordan,  1st  ed., 

Magdala.  See  Mejdel. 
Makhneh,  Plain  of,  11. 
Malia,  14. 

Maronites,  18,  116,  133  note. 
Marun  er  Ras,  27. 


15° 


STUDIES  IN  GALILEE 


"Meadow     of     Springs"     (Ijon,     Merj 

•^Ayfln),   12,   20. 
Mecca,  116  note. 
Mediterranean  Sea,  3,  13,  98. 
Megiddo,  59. 
Meiron,   56. 
Mejdel   (Magdala),   30,   55,    57.   58,  68, 

84,  85. 
Melcarth,  Temple  of,  123,  and  note. 
"Mensa    {Tabula)    Christi"   {Mensa    d' 

onore),  84  note,  86,  87. 
Merj  <:Ayun  (Ijon,  "Meadow  of  Springs"), 

12,  20,  3Q. 
Merj    el  Jish,  13,  56. 
Merj  ibn  ^Amr.      See  Esdraelon,  Plain  of. 
Merill,    Dr.:     Galilee    in   the    Times    of 

Christ,  p.  62,  131,  and  note. 
Meron,  13,  16,  27,  74,  119;   plain  of,  12; 

synagogue  119,  121;     tombs  of   rabbis, 

119;    waters  of  (Lake  Huleh),  27. 
Merun  er  Ras,  13. 
Mes,  5,  T2. 
Metaweleh    (Shiites),    15,    18;     customs 

and  traditions  of,   18. 
Milestones,  remains  of  Roman,  11. 
Minia.     See  Khan  Minia. 
"Minim,"  88,   124. 
Mittheilungen    der  deiitschen    Orient-Ge- 

sellschaft,  109  note. 
M'^Keis  (Gadara),  31. 
Mohammed,  17. 

Montfort  Castle  (KuKat  el  Kurein),   14. 
Mongol  Turks,  67. 
Moslems,  17,  18,  87   note,  98,  133    note, 

141. 
Mount  of  the  Beatitudes,  83,  and  note, 

84,  and  note,  86,  87. 
Mughar  el  Hazzur,  55,  59. 
Munja.     See  el  Munja. 
Munyat  Hisham,  82. 
Mubatten,  41,  42. 
Musht,  43,  44. 
M<^utelleh,  22. 

N 

Nablus,  59. 

Nahr  Banias,  24. 

Nahr  Bareight,  20. 

Nahr  el  Leddan,  22,  24. 

Nahr  Hasbani,   20. 

Nahr  Na^mein  (Belus),  4,  9. 

Nahum  (Nakhum),  the  Prophet,  88,  and 

note,  89. 
Naphthali,  3,  83,  88. 
Nasairiyeh,  17. 
Nazareth,  7,   10,   58,  79,   130,   133,   134, 

140;     medical    mission    at,    141    note; 

mountains  of,  3,  6,  7,  8,  9,  10,  134,  136; 

position  and    surroundings  in  time  of 


Christ,  134,  136,  137;    synagogue,  77; 

Virgin's  Fountain,  10,  134. 
Nebi  Audeidah,  ir. 
Nebi  Sain,  7. 
Nebi  Sibelan   (Zebulon?),   tomb  at,    15, 

and  note. 
Nebra  hill,  120,  121. 
Nebratain  (Khurbet  Nebratain),  74,  119, 

120,  and  note,  122;  synagogue,  120,  121. 
Nero,  93,  95. 

Neronias,  name  given  to  Banias,  22. 
Nets  used  by  Galilean  fishermen,  39-42. 
Nile  River,  81,  86. 
Noe,  84  note,  87,  and  note. 

o 

Olives,  cultivated  in  Galilee,  9,   10,   53, 

99,  104,  131. 
"^Oreimeh.     See  el  "^Oreimeh. 
Origen,  Ev.  Joann.,  6:24,  33  note. 


Palestine,   passim. 

Palestine  Exploration  Fund,  64  note, 
73,  118;  Memoirs,  66,  81,  84  note,  109 
note,  133,  and  note,  134;  /,  232,  117, 
and  note;  I,  402,  99,  and  note;  Quar- 
terly Statement,  84  note;  1898,  p.  2g, 
27  note;  1905,  p.  363,  30  note;  1907, 
April,  61,  63  note;  1908,  p.  29,  27 
note;  1908,  January,  "Fisheries  of 
Gahlee,"  37  note. 

Panias  (Banias)*  origin  of  name,  22,  27. 

Papyrus,  25,  26,  61. 

Peasant  life  in  Galilee,  138,  139. 

Pharisees,  7T,  140. 

Philip.     See  Herod  Philip. 

Pliny,  94;    V.  I,  95  note. 

Population  of  Galilee  in  Time  of  Christ, 
132,  133,  and  note,  134. 

Pottery:  Amorite  or  Hebrew  at  Khurbet 
^Oreimeh,  63;  Arab  at  et  Tell,  103; 
Arab  at  Khurbet  Minia,  6t,  62,  83 ;  Arab 
and  Roman  at  Tell  Hum,  74;  Graeco- 
Roman  at  Nebratain,  120;  pre-Chris- 
tian,   132. 

Products  of  Gahlee,  9,  10,  16,  22,  24,  25, 
26,  52,  53,  55>  56,  58,  66,  104,  137. 

Purim,  Feast  of,  116. 


Quaresmius,  87, 


Q 


R 


Rameh,  11,  17,  61;   plain  of,  6,  9,  10,  55; 

"Roman"  olives  near,  131. 
Ras  el  Ahmar,  17. 
Ras  en  Nakurah,  4. 


iM)i(i:s 


Ras  Hazwch,  g. 

Ras    Kruman,   y. 

Rcitu'h,  Springs  al,  lo. 

Rcnan,  iiS,  122,  124;  Mission  de  Pheni- 

<(V,  /)/).  ~(^/-<V.?.  100  note;    p.  772,  123 

note;    \'ie  de  Jesus,  p.  140,  64  note. 
Roads  in  Galilee,  10,  11,  15,  56,  57,  59, 

Oi,   71,  08. 
Robinson,  Dr.,  85,  86;  Biblical  Researches, 

II,  III,   109  note;   II,  p.  402,  56,  and 

note;  III,  p.  347,  &2,  and  note;  III,  p. 

?57,  83,  and  note,  84. 
Romans,  10,  77,  102,  136. 
Rosh  Pinna  (Ja^unch).  17. 
Round  Fountain  ('Ain  cl  Madauwcrch), 

57.  59,  81,  84. 
Royal    Institution   of   Great    Britain,    30 

note. 
Ruhudiych  River,  5,  53,  56,  57,  59. 
Ruins  in  Galilee,  age  and  size  of,  132. 
Rumaish,  14,  15. 


S 


Safed,  5,  6,  11,  12,  17,  28.  37,  39,  56,  59,61, 
97,98,  104,  106,  116,  120,  122,  129,  132, 
133,  and  note;  central  position  of,  13,  98; 
medical  mission  at,  141  note;  moun- 
tains, II,  13;  products  of  district,  16, 
131;  springs  near,  15;  statistics  of 
population  and  religions,  132,  133 
note. 

Sahel  el  Ahma  (probably  Betzammin), 
5,  7,  8,  and  note. 

St.  Augustine,  86. 

St.  James,  nunnery  of,  27,  and  note. 

Sajaret  el  Mubarakeh,  84  note,  86. 

Saladin,  8. 

Salamis,  9,  and  note,  133. 

Samachonitis,   Lake   (Lake   Huleh),    26. 

Samaria,  7,    15. 

Samaritans,  130,  136. 

Sanhedrin,  the,  30. 

Saracens,   30,   86. 

Sardinnen,  47. 

Sa<^saS  13,  121. 

Schumacher,  Dr.:  Gerasenes,  article  in 
Encyclopedia  Biblica,  33  note;  Jatilan, 
26,  and  note;  p.  g4.  loi,  103,  an<l 
note;  p.  221,  95,  and  note;  pp.  106,  I07, 
104;  p.  2^7,  27  note;  pp.  260-6$,  122 
note. 

Schiirer,  130  note. 

Schwarz,  Rabbi,  25  note,  88,  89. 

Scribes,  71. 

Scythopolis  (Beisan),  130,  132,  133. 

SefTurieh  (Sepphoris,  SufTurieh),   10,  11, 

132,   133- 
Seiches  on  I^ke  of  Galilee,  30,  and  note. 
Sclcucia  (Seluklyeh  ?),  27,  and  note. 


Semakeyeh  .\rabs,  73,  82. 

Semunieh  (Simonias),  133. 

Sepphoris,    134,    136. 

Si'ptimius  Severus,   122. 

Shahakeh,  3(j,  40. 

ShaghClr.     .See   F.sh  ShaghQr. 

Shammai,  Rabbi,  tomb  of,  at  Mcron,  1 19. 

Shefa  '^.\mir,  123. 

Sheikh  Abreik  (probably    Gaba),  7,  129 

note. 
Sheikh  ^\li  es  Sayyad,  64. 
Shcmabnch  Bedawin,  loi. 
Shiitcs  (Metaweleh),  15,  18. 
Sidon,  4,  137. 
Sifsaf,  13,  121. 
Sikni  (Siknin,  Sukhnin,  Sogane),  9,  and 

notes. 
Simeon  ben  Jochai,   Rabbi,  tomb  of,  al 

Meron,  119. 
Simonias  (Simunieh),  7,  136. 
Sinn  en  Nabra  (Sinnabris),  31. 
Sisera,  8. 
Smith,    Dr.    George    .\dam:     article    in 

Encyclopedia   Biblica,   I,   col.  6q7,  83, 

and  note;    Historical  Geography  of  the 

Holy  Land,  83,  and  note,  95  note. 
Smith,  Dr.  William  Robertson:    Kinship 

and    Marriage    in    Arabia,     20    note; 

Religion   oj  the   Semites,    p.   208,    123 

note. 
Sogane  (Sikni,  Siknin,  Sukhnin),  9,  anrl 

notes. 
Solomon's  seal,  109. 
Stevens,    Professor  William    .\rnold,   68; 

article  in  Baptist  Quarterly  Rexnew,  51 

note. 
Suffuriah  (Seflurieh,  Sepphoris),  ir,  132, 

133- 
Suhmala,  16. 

Sukhnin  (Sikni,  Sogane),  9,  and  notes. 
Sultan  of  Turkey,  24  note. 
Sumeireh   Bedawin,   58. 
Sunnites,   17,   18. 
Sussitha  (Hippos,  Susiyeh),  33,  and  notes, 

79-  .    . 

Synagogues    in    Galilee:     characteristics 

common  to  all,  109,  no;    dale  of,  82, 

and    note,    123,    124;     excavations    by 

Professor  Kohl,  74;    gospel  references 

to,  77;    Jewish  origin,  proofs  of,   109. 

See  also   Irbid,    Kerazeh,   Tell   Hum, 

etc. 

Syria,    124. 

Syro-Phenicians  or  Tyrians,  130. 


T 


Tabighah  (Hcptapegon,  48,  57,  58,  65, 
67,  68,  82,  84  note,  85,  86,  87.  89,  95, 
98,   104;    hospice   at,   58,  61;     name, 


152 


STUDIES  IN  GALILEE 


(Icrivalion    of,    84;    plain   of,    84,    and 

note;    seven    springs   of,    68,    73,    and 

note,  82,  84,  and  note,  89. 
Tabor,  Mount,  6,  7,  10,  12,  136. 
Tabula   Christi    (Mensa   Christi,    mensa 

d'onore),  84  note,  86,  87. 
Tal  (dew),    16,    17. 
Talmud  and  Talmudic  Literature,  20,  47, 

51,  i36;Bab.  Rosh.-Nash,Shanna,2pw., 

9,  and    note;     Ber.   Rabbah,    par    20, 

10,  and  note;  Bereshith  Rabbah, 
chaps,  xxxi,  xxxviiff.,  31  note;  Jeru- 
salem Talmud,  88;  Jer.  Trumoth 
xi.  7,  etc.,  73  note;  Midrash  Rabbah 
on  Ecclesiastes,  1:8,  7:26,  88;  Mid- 
rash  Shirhash  Shirim,  III:t8,  73  note; 
Shebiith,  IX:2,  5  note;  Tos.  Meg., 
4.^:22 f..  Ill  note. 

Tankhum,  Rabbi,  88,  89. 

Tankhuma,  Rabbi,  89. 

Tannur  Eyyub  (Job's  oven),  67,  and  note, 

82. 
Taricheae   (Kerak),    28,    t,^,   79,  93,   94, 

95>  ^ii> 

Tchiflik,  the,  24  note. 

Teirshiha,  15. 

Tell,  meaning  of  word,  73. 

Tell   Abel   (Abel-beth-Maacah),    22. 

Tellawiyeh-Bedawin,   57,   105 

Tell  el  Kadi  (Dan?  Daphne?),  groves 
at,   22. 

Tell  Hum  (Tankhum  Telhum,  Caper- 
naum), 30,  I,  79,  82,  83,  85,  87,  88 
note,  89,  97,  98,  99,  100,  116;  Fran- 
ciscan hospice  at,  loi;  proofs  of  iden- 
tity with  Capernaum,  88;  ruins  at, 
77,  78;  stronghold  of  Christians,  88, 
124;  synagogue,  73  note,  74,  75/  76, 
77,  79,  80,  89,  99,  and  note,  109,  121, 
123;   date  of,  124;    description  of,  121- 

^^■ 
Tell  Jefat  (Jotapata),  9  and  note. 

Tersheiha,  16. 

Teyasir,  59. 

Th'ella  (el  Teleil?),  26,  and  note. 

Theodosius,  83. 

Thiersch,  article  in  Mittheilungen  der 
deiitschen  Orient-Gesellschaft,  109  note. 

Tiberias,  7,  28,  30,  79,  83,  84,  85,  87,  93, 
and  note,  94,  95,  98,  104,  121,  132,  133, 
136;  baths,  30;  history  of,  30,  30; 
lake  of.  See  Galilee,  Lake  of;  medi- 
cal missions  at,  141  note;  rabbinical 
school,  30;  Roman  and  pagan  city 
in  time  of  Christ,  130;  fishing  at,  39, 
41,  42. 

Tiberias-Safed  Road,  56,  57. 

Tobacco  cultivated  in  Galilee,  14,  17, 
and  note. 

Tor'^an,  plain  of,  5,  7,  11. 


Tor'^an  range,  6,  8. 

Tristram,    Canon,    81;     Land   of  Israel, 

p.  §86,  22,  and  note. 
Tubas,  II. 
Turkomans,    17. 
Tyre,  4,  15,   18,   116,   123,  132,  133,  ^3T, 

territory  of,   in  time  of  Christ,    129. 
Tyrians    (Syro-Phenicians?).  129,  136. 

u 

Ulatha  (Huleh  Lake),  27. 
Umm  el  <:Amed,   5,  74;    synagogue,   121. 
Umm  el  Kanatir    synagogue,     122,     and 
note. 

V 

Valley  (el  Ghor).     See  Jordan  Valley. 
Vegetation  of  Galilee,  9,  10,  16,  20,  24, 
25,  26,  52,  53,  56,  58,  66,  67,  loi,  104, 

137- 
Via  Maris,  oldest  route  through  Galilee, 

10,  59- 

Virgin's    Fountain,    Jerusalem,    81    note. 
Volcanic  districts,  5,  9,  13,  20,  27,  28,  53, 
54,  55.  57.  59,  74,  100. 

w 

Wady  Abellin,   11. 

Wady  Abu  el  <^Amis,  11,  30,  59,  61. 

Wady  Auba  (Wady  Hindaj),  13. 

Wady  el  ^Amud,   9,    53,    56,    57,    59,   64; 

called  Wady  el  Haniam,  56,  57. 
Wady  el  Fejjaz,  7. 
Wady  el  Halzun,  9. 
Wady  el  Hamam   (Valley  of   Doves),   9, 

11,  53,  55,  56,  57,  58,  59,  74,  ii4- 
Wady  el  Kurn,  13,  14. 

Wady  el  Malek,  7,  8. 

Wady  el  Rummaneh,  7. 

Wady  el  Teim,  20. 

Wady  el  Weibdah.     See  Wady  Kerazeh. 

Wady  en  Nashef,  loi. 

Wady  er  Rubudiyeh,  9,  55. 

Wady  esh  Shaghur,  9,  118. 

Wady  et  Tabighah,  84  note. 

Wady  et  Tawahin  (Valley  of  the  Mills), 
6,  II,  13,  56. 

Wady  Farah  (Wady  Hindaj),  13. 

Wady  Hindaj  (Wady  Auba,  Wady  Farah), 
13,   129. 

Wady  Halzun,  9. 

Wady  Hattin,  59. 

Wady  Jamus,  65. 

Wady  Kerazeh  (Wady  el  Weibdah),  98, 
99,   100,   lOI. 

Wady  Maktul,  9. 

Wady  Salameh  (part  of  Wady  Rubudi- 
yeh), 9,  10,  55. 

Wady  Selukieh,  13. 


iNi)i(i:s 


153 


Waily  Sha  il),  .). 

Wady  Wazcyeh,  11. 

Wady  Zukluk,   101. 

Wa'rct  fs  Sawdah,  57. 

Water  supply  in  Galilee,  10,  12,  13,  16, 
57,  61,  64,  66. 

Watzingcr,  Hcrr,  123,   124. 

\Villil)al(i.  S5. 

Wiistin,  Sir  Charles;  Recmrry  of  Jeru- 
salem, pp.  ,?^rt,  347,  100,  loi,  and  note. 

Wood  in  Galilee,  24,  25,  26,  52,  66,  gy, 

lOI. 


Xaloth  (Xyloth). 


X 

See  Iksal. 


Varinuk  (Hieromax),  31. 
Variin,  12,  14;   carving  on  ancient  huild- 
inn,  123. 


Zahleh,  30. 

Zakeveh,  1)4. 

Zi-lai'lon  (Sibclan  ?),  3,  7,  15  note,  88,  136. 

Zonodorus,  24,  27. 

ZinRliariych  Hcdawin,  g8. 

Zionist  movement  in  Galilee,  140,  141. 

Zuk  el  Tahta,  24. 


SPECIAL   INDKX   I 


JOSEPHUS 
I.    .4  ntiqitities  of  the  Jeu-s  (cited  as  .1  iit. ) 

V,  V,  1 25  note 

XII,  ii,  1 55  "o'e 

XV,  viii,  5 7  "ote 

XV,  X,  2 27  note 

XVIII,  ii,  1 93  "ote 

XVIII,  ii,  3 30  ""'^ 

XVIII,  iv,  6 ' 94  note 

XX,  viii,  4 93  note,  95  note 

2.    Jewish  Wars  (cited  as  B.  J.) 

I,  iv,  8 31  note 

I,  xvi,  2-4 55  note 

I,  xvi,  5 20  note 

II,  ix,  1 93  note 

II,  XX,  6 9  note,  13  note 

II.  xxi,  2 131  note 

III,  iii,  1 7  notes,  26  note,  31  note 


III,  iii,  2 131  note 

III,  iii,  4 7  note 

III,  vi,  vii 9  note 

III,  vii,  I II  note 

III,  X,  7 93  note 

III,  X,  8 51 

IV,  i,  1 22  notes,  27  note,  31  note 

IV,  i,  3 30  note 

3.    Life  of  Josephus  (cited  as  Vita) 

10,  15,  25,  40,  46,  47,  61 II  note 

12 30  note 

§§i6,  17,  41 8 

27 133  note 

§37 13  note,  55  note 

§§41,  etc 116  note 

45 131  note 

- 1 Q  note 

\~2 79  note,  93  note 


SPECIAL  TXDEX  II 
Passages  of  thk  iiiiu.K  and  the  Apocrypha 


Lev.  11:10 45 

Deut.  33:24 131  note 

Josh.  1 1 : 5-7 26 

1 2 :  23 3  note 

iy-2 3 

19:35 30 

21:32 3 

22: 10,  II 3 

Judg.  4:2 3  note 

4:11 S  note 

I  Kings    6:34 3 

9:11 > 

15:  20 22 

II  Kings  15:29 3 


II  Kings  25:29 22 

I  Chron.  6:76 3 

II  Chron.  16:4 22 

Esther  i  ■  6 3 

Psalms  133:3 16 

Song  of  Sol.  2:11 138  note 

5:14 3 

Isa.  5:24 138  note 


Ezek. 


9:1 


24:5. 
47:8 
47 


14- 


3 

38 
38 
38 


I  Mace.   5:21 130 


9:2. 


55 


154  STUDIES  IX  GALILEE 

I  Mace.   11:67 51  Luke   3:17 138  wo/e 

Matt.  3:12 158  note  4:16-30,33-35 77 

4:13 88  5:7 42  note 

4:18 39  5:27 71 

6:28-30 IT,-]  note  6:6-11 77 

6:32 17,6  note  6:34 94 

7 :  25 138  note  8:  25  (R.  V.) 33 

8:5 71  8:41 77 

9:1 71  9:10 94 

9:3 71  9^S6 XT,-]  note 

9:9 71  10:13 Q3,  iT,-j  note 

11:21 93  10:15 71 

12:10-13 77  iOo3 IT,-]  note 

13 : 3  etc.,  41 138  note  13:6 138  note 

13:48 41,  46  14:16 139  note 

13:54 77  15:4 iT,%  note 

14:13 94  15:8 I T,g  note 

14:34 51,  66,  71,  82  16:1-13 139  «oi« 

17 :  27 39  17:16 137  note 

21:3s,  etc 138  tiote  21:30 138  note 

22:2 i^g  note  22:53 77 

25:14 139  note       John     i : 44 95  "o/e 

Mark   1:16 39  2:1-11 8 

1:21-27 77  4:7-42 13-]  note 

2:6,  14,  16,  24,  etc 71  4:46 8 

3:1-5 77  6:4,10 94 

5:1  (R-V.) 33  6:17 71 

6:2 77  6:17-21 82 

6:45 94  6:19 47 

6:53 51,66,82  6:26-59 77 

7:26 130  note  12:21 95  note 

8:22 94  21:4,7.8,11 42,43 

14:49 77 


